PMD: The Light in the Storm
by ProfessorLugia
Summary: After Connor and Vulcan's adventures of stopping the destruction of time, they can finally relax and focus on their own goals... Or can they? Even as new members introduce themselves and things appear to be going well, our heroes constantly manage to get into trouble while pursuing their own goals. It comes with saving the world, after all. (Sequel to Firestorm Origins)
1. The FINAL Final Test

**Aaaaye! This is a sequel to Firestorm Origins, so if you haven't read that one, you'll probably be a bit confused, but if you have already read it, then I'm going to just drop you right in!**

 **Spoiler Warnings for people that haven't played PMD: Explorers of Time/Darkness/Sky.**

 **Also, I'm trying this thing where I put a little bold number next to certain things throughout the chapters, then at the end, provide an explanation of why that specific instance happened, kind of like an author's notes file. Anywho... Hope you enjoy! The wait will be worth it! Much Love!**

 **-PL**

 **(Sorry for all the pre-notice stuff. Here's the story.)**

* * *

 **-Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Light in the Storm-**

 **-Prologue-**

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

"Connor… You're back…" I hugged him so tightly that he gasped, "Hey… You're choking me, man..."

I let him go, and stared at him, not believing he was there. "This isn't a dream, right?"

Connor smiled, tears in his eyes, "No… It's not..."

I grinned, tears of joy still streaming down my cheeks, "I missed you so much…"

He simply stood there, and I gave him another crushing hug.

Bidoof smiled, "By golly, I'll let the guild know that you're back!"

Connor shook his head, "No. We need to talk to our team first. We already skipped out on them when we returned from the future the last time. They deserve to know before anybody else."

Bidoof nodded, "Alright… Well, I'd bet that you're hungry, no doubt! Dinner's going to be ready in an hour or less, Chimecho was sayin'!"

Connor nodded, "Thank you, Bidoof. Just… let us tell them we're back."

He nodded, and took off back to the guild.

Connor looked at the setting sun on the horizon, then at the bubbles refracting the light, "What a perfect evening to have your best friend return from the dead."

I punched him jokingly, "Shut up… I'm so glad you're back… Heck, the whole team will be glad to hear it!"

"I just… can't believe it. How did I… Come back?"

I shrugged, "I don't know… and quite honestly, I don't care. All that matters is that you did."

He continued gazing out to the sea, "Wow… It's so much more beautiful than I remember…"

I turned to him, "So… What was it like, disappearing?"

He shrugged slightly, "I don't remember anything after disappearing. I was suddenly just… here. Straight from Temporal Tower."

I tilted my head, "Nothing? Like, no memories in between or anything?"

"Nothing."

I stood still for a moment, "...Well, let's go tell the team you're back!"

He nodded, and we walked to Team Firestorm's base of operations, the tent. It's kind of a simple name, but simple is good.

When we got in front of it, I said, "Stay back… Surprises are so much fun." He nodded and stayed back as I walked in, and from what I saw, the team was mulling around. Vincent and Atlas were playing some card game, Rose was coiled up, watching. Mirage and Nocturne were betting on who would win using berries and seeds, and Magnus was sleeping on one of the bottom bunks.

Atlas looked up, "Hey, boss. Got any new missions?"

I smiled as I shrugged, "Meh. No new missions right now. Sorry."

Vincent looked up, "Yo, what's with the smile, man? I haven't seen that big of a grin on your face since-" Suddenly, he stopped mid-sentence, staring behind me. I turned, and Connor was standing at the entrance. Vincent dropped his cards, "Connor…?"

As everybody else looked at him, all of their eyes widened. He smiled sheepishly, "Geez, you guys look surprised to see me or something."

Atlas tackled him with a hug first, picking him clean off the ground. Connor grunted, and Atlas laughed with so much joy, "You're back! By Arceus, I thought we'd never see you again!"

Vincent gave him a hug as well, and Rose slithered up to him, and the others followed suit until he was pushing them off. He grinned, "It's good to be back. What did I miss?"

Mirage spoke up, "The only thing you really missed was the team getting promoted to Diamond Rank."

Magnus added, "And we're all really strong. Atlas has been riding our ass about staying in shape. Been pissin' me off, but whatever. At least I get a good fight in the mazes."

Connor seemed impressed, and Vincent looked at him again, "Wow… Three months… You haven't aged a day since I first met you!"

Connor shrugged, "It's that disappearing treatment, man. It rejuvenates my water-type skin."

Vincent chuckled, then Connor said, "What're we still doing here? Let's celebrate! I'm dying for a blue gummi smoothie!"

We all cheered, and went to Spinda's cafe. We all ordered an oran juice, and each one of us got a gummi smoothie of our type. We didn't have a drinking contest, but we informed him how much he'd missed, and how we were looking for that pokemon mafia group with Team Core.

He simply nodded and listened while drinking his smoothie out of the straw.

After that, we went back to the Guild, and everyone was so excited to see Connor back. Wigglytuff just nodded and welcomed him back. The entire guild freaked for the next few days, still not believing that he had returned.

A few nights later, I rolled over to face Connor, feeling pretty rested since I'd gotten a couple days off to catch up with him. I'm glad that they gave me that time with him.

"Well, tomorrow, we get back to training…"

Connor nodded, "I want to get to platinum rank, man."

I smiled, "We just got to diamond!"

He spoke slightly louder, still smiling, "Well, let's get to platinum!"

I scoffed, "I don't think that's a real rank," and he chuckled, "I'm serious. We're going to work our butts off to get there. The whole team. We'll do shifts at the dojo to get eight missions every day."

I shrugged, still in disbelief that he was back, even three nights later, "That's a bit overkill, but whatever. Goodnight, Connor."

"Goodnight, Vulcan…"

 **-?'s POV-**

"Boss!"

I growled as I turned around, "What is it this time, Nagini?"

"That Mudkip… He's back. Vulcan and him are back together."

"Where?"

"We're not sure… We've checked Treasure Town, and aside from there, there aren't very many other places for those two to hide safely. We will have them located swiftly, sir."

I took a deep breath, controlling my rage, "...Then how do you know that they are back?!"

"Koumori had spotted them in a Mystery Dungeon, but she lost them after they were transported out."

I tilted my head, "Would these two pokemon… Vulcan and the Mudkip… Would they happen to be the same two that foiled my plan to steal the Time Gears from that Grovyle? The same two that you ran from when they beat your 'powerful' team so easily?"

"Y-yes, sir… But I can guarantee, Fornax is devising a plan to find them and take them down. We will not disappoint you again."

"You would do well not to test my patience. We must think extensively on how to deal with them."

"When do you propose we move out, master? Immediately, or…?"

"No. This team is a crafty bunch. And directly assaulting any pokemon that is part of an exploration team would prove troublesome with the authorities… We will bide our time for a long while. Continue about your business, and do not bother me again about this subject until I say so."

Nagini stuttered, "B-but-!"

Mordred, my right-hand pokemon, extended the metal blades on his arms menacingly, and I stepped forward, "Did I stutter? We will bide our time." and he gulped, "Y-yes, sir!" as he slithered away.

I chuckled as I looked at my map of Immanis, "This is going to be fun…"

 **-Chapter 1: The FINAL Final Test-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

Wow… It was good to be back. We made it to platinum rank in four months after we resumed our training. We did so much training, the whole team felt like they could (probably) take on Dialga, after it was all said and done. Then, after another two months of comparably lax training, what Chatot said during the morning briefing caught me completely by surprise.

"Huh?! Graduation?!" I shook my head, making sure I heard him right.

Chatot nodded, "That's right! Graduation from the guild! If you graduate, you can leave the guild, be officially recognized as an independent exploration team, and on top of that, you'll be rid of the harsh daily training program too! Of course, that all depends on your passing the graduation exam."

"Hey, hey, hey! Chatot!" Corphish called out, "We've been around a lot longer than those two. Hey, hey! Why do Connor and Vulcan get to take the graduation exam before we do?"

"They've already proven themselves worthy several times over. After all, Connor and Vulcan did save the world. It's only natural that they've earned the right to be tested." He turned to us, "So that is how it goes. We will soon conduct the graduation exam. I expect you to be prepared for it!"

Everybody faced us, and Sunflora said, "Loudred took the exam last year."

"And promptly failed! Hey, hey!" Corphish added.

Loudred scoffed, "G-g-get LOST!"

I looked at Chatot and Wigglytuff, "So… What are we supposed to do for this graduation exam?"

Wigglytuff smiled, "I'm glad you asked! First step: Done! I want you to explore the depths of a wood named the Mystifying Forest. You should find a place called Luminous Spring there."

I tilted my head, confused at the location, "Luminous spring? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Wigglytuff smiled, "Well, it was a place where pokemon once went to evolve. But maybe because of the time troubles we had… No sunlight shines on the spring now. Now nothing can evolve there."

I perked up at that statement, _Can I evolve? Does it count, since I was a human and all that?_

I shrugged, telling myself maybe I could, but not to get my hopes up.

Chatot went off of what Wigglytuff said, "We want you to travel to Luminous Spring and return with its treasure. If you can bring that treasure back to the guild, you pass the exam. You will then be recognized as a fully independent and trained exploration team and graduate from the guild with full honors!"

Vulcan and I both nodded. I smiled, "Sounds easy enough. You ready, Vulcan?"

He nodded, but Wigglytuff cut in, "But…" We both looked at him, "You have to watch out for one thing. There, you will find… a frighteningly strong enemy. The grandmaster of all things bad lives there."

Vulcan seemed shocked, but I raised an eyebrow.

"The Grandmaster is terribly wicked. It's a horrifying presence that nobody would ever want to meet. So… Good luck with that!"

He said that last part with such a straight face, which for him was a corny grin, that I was caught by surprise, "Whoa, wait… What?"

Chatot called out, "That will do for the morning briefing! All right, everyone! Let's get down to work!"

"HOORAY!"

Everyone left to their posts while Vulcan and I talked plans. He seemed really worried. "What are we going to do? What if we run into the grandmaster of all things bad?"

I shook my head, "Something doesn't add up. Wigglytuff was too… Calm about it. But if it'll make you feel better… Hey, Loudred!"

We walked up to him as he was on his way to the sentry post, "You took the graduation exam last year, right? We have a question. What was the grand master of all things bad like?"

Loudred sweat a bit, "Ugh… I'm sorry, but I'm NOT allowed to talk about it. It's the guild rule. I CAN'T talk about it. But… I will tell you this… You're in for… a dreadful, terrifying time. What I went through…" He started quivering, "Even now, when I let myself remember it…" Then he ran away screaming.

I tilted my head, "What would the guild be trying to hide? Wouldn't it be dangerous to go if we couldn't ask about this grand master?"

Vulcan shrugged, "I don't know. But we need to tell the team what's going on."

I nodded, and we hit up Treasure Town. We stopped by our Team's tent, and we told them that they could just stay on standby, train at the dojo or something since we had the exam today. They all agreed, although Atlas was really keen on some lead that Maris had told him about the pokemon mafia group they'd been pursuing while I was 'gone'. But he eventually crossed his arms and huffed, "Fine…"

Vincent put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't worry about it, muscles. It's only one day."

Vulcan and I both left the tent and I said, "We're in the blind about what kind of enemy we're facing… Let's hit up the Dojo and get supplies for majorly tough enemies."

Vulcan nodded, "Sounds good."

Going off of our previous experiences with trying to use orbs on 'bosses', we stuck to seeds, only packing two petrify orbs in case of monster houses. We organized them into a 'bag' inventory in the storage for easy access, and we were about to go to the dojo when we ran into Teddiursa and Ursaring.

Teddiursa waved at us, "Oh, Connor and Vulcan! Hi!"

Vulcan waved back, "Hey! What are you guys up to?"

"We're going off to Mystifying Forest now."

Vulcan gasped, "What?! Isn't it dangerous there? The grand master of all things bad is supposed to be there."

They both tilted their heads, and Ursaring said, "Um… The Grand master of all things bad? I've never heard of anything like that. You sure you're not making a mistake?"

Teddiursa added on, "We go play there all the time! We've never seen, or even heard of a grandmaster!"

Ursaring said loathingly, "But there was that one team… What were their names?" He contemplated for a moment before nodding, "Oh, Team Veros! They poisoned the spring a long time ago. Teddiursa and I both saw it. That's why she isn't evolved yet."

He quickly dismissed the statement, "You must have just misheard a bad rumor or something. We haven't seen them in over a year." He turned to Teddiursa, "Let's go."

Teddiursa waved goodbye as they walked off, and Vulcan crossed his arms, "That… Was weird. If there really is a grandmaster… Why haven't they heard of it too?"

"Do you think that the team that they mentioned is the grand master?"

"No… 'Team anything' is usually not a master of evil, unless you're team Skull or something…"

Then he tilted his head, "Speaking of them, we haven't heard anything from them since Brine Cave."

I pieced the pieces together, trying to get back on topic, "Well, Wigglytuff warns us of this scary, wicked villain, but the pokemon in Treasure Town don't know him."

Vulcan gasped, "Do you think it could be a hoax to try and scare anyone who takes the exam?"

I shook my head, "Naw, Loudred was definitely scared of something. Let's stick with our old plan."

So that's what we did. We dropped our items off in the storage, and went to the Dojo. Atlas and Magnus both wanted to come, so we just said that they could tackle the other mazes. While we were in there, Vulcan learned Inferno, officially. I learned Blizzard with a TM, and as we made it through the mazes, I figured out how stinkin' useful that move was. When we hit the monster houses, I used it, and almost every time, the pokemon were all knocked out, except for maybe one or two that the attack missed. but Vulcan just finished the remaining ones off with fire punch or flamethrower. Each time we made it through, Vulcan went and checked for missions while I shopped for seeds and items.

We kept training until we felt like we could hold our own. After that, we picked up our items, which consisted of two petrify orbs, blast, stun, totter, violent, and reviver seeds. I packed all of them. Better safe then sorry. The last two items on the list were my stamina band and Vulcan's blue bow. We adjusted them, and I filled some more space with a few apples and oran berries. There was still a good amount of space left in the bags for treasure, TMs and stuff we found in the dungeon itself.

We ran around to a couple shops, Vulcan wrote in the adventure log at the well to finish, and then set out for Mystifying forest, which magically marked itself for us on the map.

When we got there, Vulcan looked up at the trees, "Well, it's definitely a forest… Not near as creepy as dusk forest, though."

I chuckled, "Not even close. Let's boogie."

We moved to the forest, and when we entered the treeline, the branches solidified around us, forming a wall, signaling a mystery dungeon.

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 **Okay... None of the author notes yet. but it's good to be back! Hope you enjoyed, as always! Be sure to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed, or if you didn't, tell me what you didn't like, or whatever!**


	2. We're On Our Own

**-Chapter 2: We're On Our Own-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

When we got in there, Vulcan expected it to be easy since it was a forest with lots of grass types. But what he didn't expect were Torterra that had STAB earthquake, which practically OHKOd him every time.

On top of that, there were lots of flying types, poison types, normal types, and even flygon. But I took care of most of them with ice beam. Of course, Vulcan was pretty upset when he stepped on a totter trap, which spun him around so fast he was running in circles for five minutes.

Then, he hit a pitfall trap, which sent him back down a floor. I had to wait for thirty minutes for him to find me again, during which I found four reviver seeds consumed, and after that, he ate an eyedrop seed, mumbling, "Freakin' traps… STAB earthquake… Tons of type disadvantages... Ugh…"

Before long, we made it to the end, where a medium sized clearing bottlenecked into a larger area up ahead.

Vulcan looked around, "Well, no Grand Master… And we're at the end."

Suddenly, a voice called out from behind us, "Oh! Connor! And Vulcan, too!"

We turned, and Teddiursa, as well as Ursaring walked up behind us, and Vulcan waved, "Hey, guys! You're here too?"

Teddiursa nodded, "Yup!" Ursaring added, "Did you find that grand master of all things bad?"

I shook my head, "No, thank goodness. I don't want to deal with any more powerful enemies…"

Ursaring nodded, "See? I told you, you probably misheard a rumor or something."

Teddiursa tilted her head, "Why are you two here? Are you looking for that grand master?"

I shook my head, "No, we're looking for Luminous Spring."

"Oh, Luminous Spring?" Teddiursa asked as she pointed ahead, "It's just up here. We'd heard that the poison had been cleared, so I wanted to see if I could finally evolve!"

Ursaring nodded, "You want to come with us?"

We nodded, "Sure. Lead the way."

They walked around us, through the clearing to the next one.

I turned to Vulcan, "Let's get going. I think that we're pretty well off with them."

He nodded, and we both began walking. We didn't even make it three steps before the ground disappeared from underneath us, and we both shouted as we fell into a deep pit.

When we hit the ground, I peeled myself up, groaning, "Ooh… That hurt…"

Vulcan rubbed his tail, "You're telling me… How could we have fallen for such a simple trap?"

As I looked around, I saw a carved out arena, with only one light above us, coming from the hole we fell into.

I shrugged, "I don't know, but we need to get…" As I spoke, a thick, white fog poured from the walls, and from above us, through the skylight. Then, the hole closed, and we were in the dark.

Even Vulcan's tail was useless in this thick fog.

"Out…"

"...Mua-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Vulcan gasped, "Connor! There's someone in here!"

I looked around nervously, not having any moves to clear the fog away, "The Grand Master…"

I tried to detect movement with my head fin, but so far nothing was coming up. Either this grand master was really good at moving stealthily, or he was standing super still.

"Welcome… To the world of darkness. I am the Grand Master of all things bad…"

I saw Vulcan's tail, which had started to glow brighter, so I moved closer through the fog, and another voice came from my left, "Humph! Not only the Grand Master, but more of us besides!"

Then another voice, "A BUNCH of us minions of the grand master are here!"

The first voice spoke again, "You can't see through this fog, but you're completely surrounded."

The grandmaster laughed again, "Coming to our lair is the last mistake you'll ever make. You're not walking out of here. Or crawling."

Vulcan looked around, then tapped my shoulder, "Can you sense how many we're dealing with?"

I tried, but they were all standing still. I shook my head, "No. They're standing still."

"...Shield your eyes."

I complied, and he started twirling in a circle before I heard the sound of flames. He bellowed heat so intense that I felt my skin blistering, even with his teammate protection thing on. I heard several shouts of astonishment, and one high-pitched scream before the noise died down. When I opened my eyes, the walls were glowing red hot, and the fog had been burned away. I looked around us, and to my surprise, we were surrounded by… The guild members. Even Wigglytuff.

Sunflora's face was on fire, and she was trying to swat it out while everybody was groaning from the sudden burst of light. But Wigglytuff wasn't fazed at all. He just blinked once, his pupils dilating to the light coming from Vulcan's tail, which cast flickering shadows along the walls, giving the entire place a creepy feel.

"Uh…"

Vulcan shouted, his tail burning a bright shade of green, "Wigglytuff?!" He spun in a circle, "And everybody else?! What's going on?!"

Behind us, Bidoof murmured, "Um… Was this part of the plan? It sure is easier to see. This is all so new to me."

Chatot placed his head on his wing, shaking his head, "Aargh… What a farce…"

I looked around, so confused, "Um… Wigglytuff? Could you tell us what's going on?"

Everybody looked at him, and he glared at us, "Who's… Wigglytuff?"

Vulcan and I both said, "Huh?"

"I know nothing of your so-called Wigglytuff. I am the grand master!"

 _What…? He sure as heck looks like Wigglytuff!_

Chatot stuttered, "Uh… That's right! And we're the grandmaster's minions!"

Sunflora managed to swat out the fire on her face, "Oh my gosh, that is so right! I don't know any pokemon named Sunflora!"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

"Uh, yes sirree! We never saw you in our lives, nope, nope!"

Vulcan shook his head, "What is going on…?"

I tapped him with my head fin, "It doesn't matter! We've got a fight on our hands! You take down Sunflora before she can use Petal Dance. I'll take care of whoever's closest after that."

Wigglytuff laughed, "Coming to our lair is the last mistake you will ever make. Prepare to face the grand master of all things bad! YOOM… TAH!"

As he shouted, several blue rings of energy flew at us, distorting the air. As Vulcan and I split up, I could feel the energy coming from them. _One hit from those, and we're done._

One look at Vulcan, and I could tell that he had figured the same thing.

Vulcan bellowed a flamethrower straight into Sunflora, but Loudred jumped in front of her, taking the flames, then countering with a hyper voice attack.

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

I leapt out of the way of the attack, and Connor began spinning in a circle, spinning a whirlpool of water that grew and grew until he let it go. It tore around the entire cavern, sucking up Chatot, Loudred, Croagunk, Bidoof and Chimecho.

It threw them all into the walls, and I used that opportunity to use another flamethrower on Sunflora. But before I could use the attack, she was right in front of me, "Petal Dance!"

I growled, "Not today!" Instead, I used fire punch to knock her back into the wall, and the petals flew everywhere. I shouted, "Hit the deck!"

Connor complied, using dig to burrow into the ground. Diglett got hit with some of the petals, and he went down.

Just as I thought we were doing good, Dugtrio used dig, hitting me out of nowhere. The shards of stone impaled themselves in my leg, but I managed to stay standing.

Connor roared, and a flurry of ice and snow condensed around him, and then shot out in every direction. Chatot flew in and shielded Wigglytuff from the icy blast, which missed him anyways, but aside from Loudred, Dugtrio, Croagunk, Chimecho and those two, nobody was left standing after the blizzard.

Chatot flew in and used hyper voice too, which I barely managed to dodge, and he used wing attack to knock me over, then grabbed me in his talons by my tail, slinging me way up into the air. Chatot glared at me as I floated weightlessly for a moment and opened his beak, but then the walls began heaving, and two boulders flew from the walls themselves, making Chatot dive to avoid them. I landed on one that hovered beneath me, and Connor began lowering me to the ground.

I covered for him by using flamethrower on Croagunk. He leapt out of the way, but his skin still blistered. Chatot tried to get the drop on Connor, but I leapt off of the floating stone onto Chatot's back, and used fire fang. He squawked, flew into the wall, and spiraled into the ground. He was still up, but he was limping now.

I turned to Connor, who was now being chased by loudred and Croagunk again. Chimecho used psycho cut to try and get him while he was running, but he used ancient power to vault over the attack by raising the earth. Loudred plowed head first into the rock, and Croagunk sprinted around it.

Suddenly, the ground started heaving as Dugtrio used magnitude. I stumbled, and Chatot managed to land a hyper voice attack on me. I covered my ears, shouting in pain, unable to hear past the ringing in my head. I pulled out a heal seed and bit down on it. My ears felt better, but I still felt weak. Then I ate an oran berry, but not before Dugtrio used magnitude again. I couldn't even get up on the uneven ground. Connor used Ice Ball to roll around, and slammed right into Dugtrio's head before he could burrow under. Dugtrio was down, and now, Croagunk had come to me, seemingly uninterested in chasing Connor now.

I stood up, "Time to see if Electivire's move tutoring worked!" I activated counter, and suddenly, time seemed to slow down for me. Croagunk leapt at me, his fist pulled back, readying poison jab. I sidestepped as he slowly came towards me, and used fire punch to send him into the ground. I then followed up with a flamethrower. He was down, so I focused on Loudred, who was more wary of me now. ( **1.)**

 _ **-Flashback-**_

 **Before we left, we went to Electivire's link shop, and asked if he could teach us some moves. He complied, saying, "I can teach you any move that you can learn, whether it be from breeding, leveling up, TM, you name it!"**

 **I smiled, "Awesome! We both want to learn a few moves."**

 **Electivire nodded, his tails buzzing with electricity, "Well, it's 500 poké per session. That covers everything for the both of you."**

 **I pulled the money out of the bag. He accepted it, and placed his two tails on my shoulders, "Let's see… Ooh, you've got some pretty cool egg moves… How many were you thinking of?"**

 **I suddenly was flooded with knowledge and the names of all the moves I could learn through all the different means, so I picked two that I thought would be the most useful. "Maybe a couple… Like, belly drum and Counter."**

 **Electivire nodded, "Can do!"**

 **Electivire began glowing, and before long I felt the electric current transfer the knowledge of the moves into my brain, and Electivire gloated, "Done! Now you!" He looked at Connor, and he reeled back a little bit, "Oh… Okay."**

 **He placed his tails on Connor, then grunted, "You ever visit me before?"**

 **He shook his head, "No, sir."**

" **Strange. You know Ancient Power and Ice ball. And unless you were bred from a Walrein that had somehow learned Ancient power, there's no way outside of me that you should… Oh, well. What do you want to learn?"**

 **Connor hesitated for a moment before replying, "Mirror coat!"**

 **Electivire smiled, "Good choice, lad!" (2.)**

Chatot used hyper voice on Connor, but he activated mirror coat, which he had learned from Electivire, and the rings reflected harmlessly off of him, straight into Wigglytuff, who was unphased by it. Speaking of that, he had been standing there the whole time…

 _What's he doing…? He hasn't been fighting at all! Is he planning something?_

Loudred darted towards me, but Connor used take down to knock him over, and I quickly used brick break, and he was out. All that was left was Chatot, Chimecho and Wigglytuff…

I used flamethrower on Chatot, but Chimecho raised a barrier around them that snuffed out the flames. Connor ate an oran berry, and he said, "Now would be a good time for that belly drum boost, Vulcan!"

I nodded, and used the move. I puffed out my chest and began pounding my stomach for a few seconds with flaming fists. I felt like I was about to pass out when the move was over, but after I ate an oran berry to regain my lost energy, I felt super powerful. I used flamethrower again, and I might as well have been using blast made a huge vortex that enveloped all of the remaining members.

When the flames died down, Chimecho was down, and Chatot was barely standing. He dashed towards us with what was left of his strength, and Connor cut him off with ancient power. The stone flew over and slammed him into the wall, and he was down.

 **-Connor's POV-**

After I took Chatot down, Vulcan's tail illuminated the "grandmaster's" face… He was perfectly fine, unaffected by Vulcan's mega flamethrower. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was that I could tell from his expression that he was _pissed_ about what I did.

"YOOM…"

Suddenly, I felt even more afraid than when we stood face to face with Primal Dialga.

"TAH!"

I used double team, moving so fast that the the rings of energy phased through my illusory copies. Wigglytuff simply glared at them while I dashed backwards, standing next to Vulcan. For the next few moments, there was a silent standoff between the three of us.

Vulcan raised an eyebrow, "Why's he just standing there…?"

"I don't know… Maybe he's- Whoa!"

Suddenly, Wigglytuff sprinted forward, and was on us in a second. I gasped and tried to leap back, but he hit us both with double slap, hitting hard enough to send us both flying. I managed to land on my feet, but Vulcan hit the wall pretty hard.

When I looked back at Wigglytuff, who was dashing towards me with a Double-Edge, I used protect without thinking twice. He hit the shield and bounced off, but he quickly leapt towards Vulcan, nailing him with the attack.

Vulcan flipped away, but Wigglytuff was too fast. He followed up with another double slap, but Vulcan had a red counter aura around him. He dodged all of Wigglytuff's strikes and hit back with double the force, on top of his maxed out stats from the Belly Drum boost, Wigglytuff got hit so hard that it sent out a shockwave that vibrated the very air. But it looked like Vulcan was hitting the immovable object, with all the reaction Wigglytuff showed. He only got hit back a few feet.

He grunted, then opened his mouth, singing a soft song. Recognizing it, I tried to cover my ears, but my arms couldn't reach my head, and I passed out to the lullaby.

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

 _Holy smokes, Wigglytuff's fast!_

When he started singing, I turned to Connor while covering my ears, "Connor! You have to cover your-"

*Thud*

"Ears…"

Connor was passed out since his arms couldn't reach his head, and Wigglytuff sprinted for him. I used flame charge, boosting my speed while I dashed to get there first. Wigglytuff turned to me and readied double slap.

I used substitute to take the attack while I slid beneath him, using my tail to trip him up so I could try to wake Connor. I slapped him once, "Connor! Get- Oof!" Wigglytuff kicked me into the wall, and I flew face first into the stone.

Wigglytuff picked Connor up with one hand, and began readying hyper voice at point blank range, "YOOM…"

Thinking fast, I reached into my bag and threw a totter seed with all my might. It hit Wigglytuff right in the face, and he stumbled backwards, dropping Connor, "TaAh!"

The blue rings of energy flew everywhere, blowing up stone and shattering the walls, but Wigglytuff shook his head once, getting over his confusion, and glared at me as I grabbed Connor and carried him to safety, "Why do you protect him?"

"Huh? What do you mean? We're a team. We've got each others' backs."

He scoffed, "Teams… They're nothing but lies. Others only exist to help you get what you want. My minions allowed me to observe how you fought. If they lost, then they didn't deserve to be my minions to begin with."

That shook me up pretty badly. _Holy smokes… Either he's really into the act, or this really isn't Wigglytuff if he's saying something like that…_

I set my hands ablaze, each one like a bonfire from my stat boost, "You're going down. Nobody talks like that about my friend!"

Wigglytuff smiled cruelly, "You will fail. You stand no chance against me."

I growled, "We'll see…" As I dashed forward.

* * *

 **Alright, here's where the number things come into play! They're like little Author's notes! So... Yeah!**

 **1- When I think of counter, I think of counters in Super Smash Bros, where they dodge the attack or whatever, then strike back with a counterattack. That's what I thought of for counter instead of just... tanking the attack.**

 **2-I just want my characters to be able to use awesome egg moves. I know, Electivire can't teach your guys egg moves in the game, but I felt that he should be able to, so I wrote it that way.**

 **As always, hope you liked this chapter! Be sure to give my story a fav. and a follow if you enjoyed! Go ahead and leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed this chapter too, it really helps to keep me motivated to write and make stories, and I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	3. Strange Things at Luminous Springs

**-Chapter 3: Strange Things at Luminous Springs-**

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

 _Man, I hope Connor wakes up soon…_

As I rushed the "Grandmaster", I knew I stood a very slim chance fighting by myself. I focused on him as I used flame charge to boost my speed, and rammed into him with all my might. He grunted once, but knocked me into the wall with little effort, chuckling, "Your time is up…"

I stood up and used flamethrower, and Wigglytuff ducked down and slid towards me. I shut off the attack and activated counter. As he tried to use double slap again, I dodged and hit back with twice the force. He was sent skidding, but he didn't look fazed. Me, on the other hand… I was fighting to stay standing.

Wigglytuff looked at Connor, who was still snoring, and I cursed myself for allowing Wigglytuff to get between he and I.

He looked back at me, and turned around, heading straight for Connor. I screamed, "Connor, wake up!"

As I sprinted forward, a blue shield appeared around him, launching Wigglytuff through the air. Connor stood up, his entire body glowing with a neon blue aura, and I looked at him in awe, his eyes glowing a light, almost neon blue as well. Then he shook his head and looked like himself again. He charged forward and used Hydro Pump, knocking Wigglytuff into the wall.

Then he followed up with an Ice Beam, freezing Wigglytuff. I used flamethrower, and Connor triggered a rockslide by rearing up and slamming into the ground. The rocks fell on Wigglytuff, and I used flamethrower to melt them over him. Then, Connor raised the stones back up with Ancient Power and slammed them back down again with even more force than the initial rock slide.

When the dust cleared, Wigglytuff was standing on top of the stones. He looked burnt, and half of his right arm was still encased in ice, but he was still standing. "Too strong… Muah-ha-ha-ha…" Then he fell face first into the rubble.

Chatot stood up and took to the air, "The grandmaster… They beat him!"

Everybody started getting up, and Loudred shouted, "Everybody! RUN!"

They all climbed out of the pit, pushing the cover out of the way, and Chimecho used her psychic to carry Wigglytuff. I heard the footsteps retreating, and I let out a sigh of relief, "We did it…" I looked up to the hole above us, "Now… How are we supposed to get out?"

Connor smiled, "No problem." His head fin was surrounded by a purple aura, and the rubble came together, forming a platform of stone. Connor and I both stepped onto it and floated up. After we stepped on the grass again, I sighed, "What was that about…? I mean… I'm glad we made it out, but still…"

Connor chuckled, "I wouldn't think about it too much. Let's get the treasure from Luminous Spring."

We walked around the pit and moved forward. When we left the clearing, Teddiursa and Ursaring were standing there.

They were staring at a yellow box. I called out, "Hey!"

Ursaring said, "Oh! It's you two! What happened? I thought you were right behind us."

Connor smiled, "Something came up. We saw some glowing thing and wanted to check it out."

Changing the subject, I looked at the box, "What's that?

Ursaring turned to us, "A treasure box."

Teddiursa crossed her arms, "There wasn't a treasure box here before. I want to open it, but at the same time, I've got a creepy feeling from it."

Ursaring glared at the box, "You know… It would be bad if it was a booby trap or something. So we've been debating whether to open it or leave it."

"It's probably for us," Connor said. "We were told to bring back the treasure of Luminous Spring."

Teddiursa jumped excitedly, "That's it! This box must have something to do with your exam! You guys should open it."  
I moved forward, and Connor intercepted me, "Wait." he looked at the box, "Let me see if it's a trap. I might be able to see something."

I nodded, and Connor hesitated as he placed his front leg on the box. He crumpled to the ground after a moment, freaking Teddiursa and Ursaring out, but he stood up and shook his head, "It's all good. Wigglytuff put the box here."

I opened the treasure box, and inside was… A perfect apple. Connor blinked heavily, "That's the treasure?"

I chuckled, "It suits Wigglytuff, I guess. No better treasure than his favorite food." I put the apple in the bag, and there was a flash of light up ahead. We moved towards the blinding light, and when it cleared, a beam was shining down on a crystal clear pond.

"Light… Light is shining down!" Ursaring grinned.

Teddiursa smiled, "And the poison is gone! Maybe… Then… Did Luminous Spring regain its power?"

We all moved forward, and as we reached the water, it solidified beneath us, so we were literally walking on water, but it felt like solid ground. A voice rang out of nowhere.

 **Those of you that seek awakening… This is Luminous Spring.**

Connor looked around, "That's… Weird."

 **The resumption of time has cleared the poison that once plagued this spring, and brought light here again. If you seek evolution, step forward.**

Teddiursa giggled uncontrollably, "I knew it! I knew it would be revived!"

Ursaring pat him on the back, "Good for you! You've been looking forward to evolution for a long time!"

Connor tilted his head, "Okay, so… evolution? Wigglytuff mentioned it before, but what is it?"

Ursaring seemed genuinely surprised, "You don't know about evolution? What it means to evolve?"

He shook his head, "I have amnesia."

Ursaring nodded, "That's right… Well, some pokemon can evolve as long as certain requirements are met. When a pokemon evolves, its appearance changes, often dramatically. And on top of that, their attributes change as well. You may give up one stat in exchange for another being boosted, or all of your attributes might get an upgrade. Like if you evolved into a Swampert, you'd be a serious force to be reckoned with, especially if you have a Swamp Bangle." **(1.)**

Connor nodded slowly, "That is interesting…"

Teddiursa nodded, "I've been wanting to get stronger. So I've been wanting to evolve for a long time!" She turned to Ursaring, "I'm going to try it out right away!" She moved under the ray of light.

 **Those that seek awakening… This is Luminous Spring. Do you seek to evolve?**

"Yup! Please!"

 **Do you need an item to do so?**

"Nope! I don't need one!"

 **So be it… Seeker of awakening… Let us begin.**

The light shined brighter, and pretty soon, we had to look away. The last glimpse I saw of Teddiursa was her growing.

When the light cleared, we looked back, and she had evolved into an Ursaring.

We both stared at her, and she let out a cheer, "Yay! Ursaring, I evolved!"

Ursaring nodded, "Alright! All that training you did finally paid off!" Then he looked at himself, then back to Ursaring. "Well, now it's kind of hard to tell us apart… But good for you!"

I looked at Connor, "Let's do it! Come on!" I stepped forward, eager to evolve.

When I reached the light, the voice emanated throughout the spring.

 **Those that seek awakening… This is Luminous Spring. Do you seek to evolve?"**

"Yes, please!"

 **Do you need an item to do so?**

"I don't think so."

 **So be it… Seeker of awakening… Let us begin.**

I waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. I looked at my hands, my tail, both of them still the same.

 **...No. Impossible. You may not evolve.**

I looked around, "What?! Why not? Do I need an item?"

 **No… That is not it… It is not merely a problem of not meeting requirements...**

"Well, what's the deal then? Teddiursa evolved just a minute ago. What's different about me?"

 **Why can you not evolve…? It may be influenced by a distortion in the fabric of space...**

"Fabric of… What? Space? I don't understand!"

 **Why that would be, I do not know… but your presence… Is somehow related to the distortion of space itself. And as a result of that, you may not evolve.**

I shook my head, "But-! I was born in this world! Why would my presence be distorting space?"

 **No… It is not just you… There is yet another… The one behind you… Is also forbidden its evolution.**

I turned back to Connor, and I saw his eyes widen, and I faced the light again, "Hey, Connor may be from the future, but that's time! Not space! There's a difference, you know!"

 **That is all I can tell. This is Luminous Spring. If you seek new evolution, then you shall return.**

The light faded, and I walked off of the water, "Well… Looks like neither of us can evolve… That sucks. But we got the treasure! Let's head back to the guild."

I threw down an escape orb, and we were teleported to the entrance of the guild. When we got inside, everyone gathered around while we gave Wigglytuff the perfect apple.

Wigglytuff raised his arms, "You've passed the graduation exam! Yay! You did it!" everybody cheered, but Connor stared at Wigglytuff.

His arms dropped, "Oh? Not celebrating? Are you maybe… Not happy?"

I stared at him, "No, we're happy, but… I just don't think we did anything that special."

Wigglytuff shook his head, "That's not true at all! Don't you realize what you two did was incredible! You went and brought back a fantastic treasure in a perfect apple! But even better than that… You defeated that horrible grandmaster of all things bad, didn't you?"

I tilted my head, "How did you know that? We didn't tell you we ran into him."

"Uh… We heard it… somewhere?"

"And speaking of the grandmaster… That was you, wasn't it, Wigglytuff? I mean, guildmaster and grandmaster sound awfully similar."

Wigglytuff looked around, and everybody started to get nervous. "Uh? I… I don't know? I don't know what you're talking about. G-grand master of all things bad?"

Chatot squawked, "Me too! I know nothing! The grandmaster's minions? What are they?"

"Hey, hey! Me too!"

"Eek! I don't know any minions!" Sunflora's face was charred, and I couldn't help but smile and shake my head. _Okay... That's how they want to play..._

Chatot cut in, "Anyway! You two have officially graduated from the guild! From now on, you will no longer be bound by the guild's strict regulations! You'll be free to operate as an exploration team completely on your own!"

Connor smiled, "Awesome! So now we can keep all the money from the missions, right?"

Chatot shook his head, "No."

Connor's shoulders dropped as he continued, "Unfortunately, that aspect does not change at all. As before, you are required to give most of that money to the guild. Graduation means that you're still affiliated with us. Team Firestorm can only operate because of this guild. So you'll need to accept that as part of being an exploration team."

I sighed, "If that's the case, then what's different?"

Sunflora spoke up, "You don't understand! Graduation from the guild is extraordinary!"

"That's right!" Loudred shouted. "I should know! Even I couldn't pass the graduation exam!" He teared up and seemed to be laughing/crying.

"Anyway!" Wigglytuff interjected, "You two passed the exam with flying colors! I hope you'll continue to do great work as explorers!"

Chimecho cheered, "Congratulations, Connor and Vulcan!"

"Oh my gosh! How wonderful!"

"Hey, hey, hey!"

Bidoof sniffled, "I'm so happy for you all… I'm… I'm… Oof…"

Loudred chuckled, "Drop in on your old friends every now and then!"

Connor smiled, "Thanks everyone!"

Wigglytuff smiled warmly and cheered, "Congratulations, Team Firestorm!"

I fought back a wave of tears and replied, "Thank you, guys… Really… Thank you!"

We started to leave, and I shouldered my wonder bag, but nearly fell over. "What the-?"

I opened the bag, which weighed so much more than usual, and I saw a big purple bag with a label. "Ten thousand poké?!"

Wigglytuff smiled, "Start up funds for the new exploration team!"

I put the bag in Connor's backpack since he was stronger, and we deposited it in Duskull's bank.

I lead Connor to Sharpedo bluff and burnt away the fake bush concealing the exit. Connor raised an eyebrow, "Why'd you do that?"

I smiled, "This is our base now. Not our hideout. Anybody that messes with it's gonna have to deal with us."

That evening, we kicked off the biggest celebration in the history of our team.

* * *

 **What time is it? It's summer time! It's graduation! Sorry, just had to. Anywho, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick review or PM me if you did! If you've got any questions about whatever, I will respond to PMs within the day that I receive them, so feel free to ask away! I will see you all in the next chapter! Much Love!**

 **1- Swamp Bangle absorbs grass-type moves to restore HP**


	4. A New Beginning

**-Chapter 4: A New Beginning-**

 **-?'s POV-**

"Boss, Rogue and Koumori have pinned down their location in Treasure Town."

I raised an eyebrow as I stared at my underling, "You mean to tell me that they have elude my best tracker and spy, who have both been there at least once before?"

"Perhaps they had just recently moved there?"

I shook my head, pausing slightly to figure out how to best deal with the situation, "...I wish to speak with Rogue and Koumori. Fetch them for me."

They both came in soon after that, and I glared at them both, "Koumori, I was willing to forgive your failure to retrieve the location of Vulcan and Connor the first time, but now that you have somehow managed to waste six months of my time after letting them slip from your grasp on yet another occasion, I am beyond frustrated with you."

She fluttered in front of me, "Y-yes, sir… I apologize."

I turned to Rogue, who began shifting nervously, "And you… You're supposedly my best tracker. If you wish to maintain any position in my group, then you had better not fail me again."

"Yes, sir."

"Now get out of my sight. I am sick of dealing with failure after failure."

 **-Connor's POV-**

When we woke up this morning, the sun was shining through the mouth of the bluff, warming me up to my very core.

I stood up, "What a beautiful first day of being an exploration team for real!"

I tried to wake Vulcan up, but he grumbled something, and I laughed, "Hey, it's not my fault you wanted to get into a chugging contest with Nocturne. Now get up. We got some missions to do, teammates to organize, all that fun stuff."

He stood up after a little while and washed his face off in the small water fountain in the back after some he mumbled some brief words about being an idiot.

After he washed up, we went to Treasure Town. We were walking through the place, when suddenly we heard a rumbling noise coming from Marowak's Dojo, and I leaned towards it, "Let's go check it out."

When we got inside, we saw Marowak staring at a hole in the wall. I looked at him, then at the hole, "Hey, uh, Marowak? What's that?"

He turned to us, "Th-the wall just gave way! And that big hole appeared where it was… Come to think of it, my grandpa mentioned this a long time ago…"

Vulcan nearly fell over from his exhaustion, "Your… Grandpa?"

He nodded, "Yes. You see, my grandpa built this dojo originally. And that same grandpa told me that there was a very dangerous cave here. It was so dangerous… He had the hole sealed up so nobody could get in. I remember now… Back then, my grandpa used to tell me about that hole. He'd never once fail to scare me silly."

Then he looked at us, and his eyes widened, "Y-you two… You're not… You're not seriously considering going in there, are you? Don't do it. Don't even think about it… I… I can't guarantee you'll ever come out of there."

I shook my head, "Nah, we'll save that for another day. We'd want a plan, and Vulcan's too tired to be at peak performance."

We were headed to the Spinda Cafe to meet with the recruits to discuss missions, and when we reached the crossroads, we ran into Chimecho. She said that since we were graduated and were an official team of the guild, we could change the leader of the team now. Even one of our team members could represent for us in rescue missions and stuff. That lead me to start thinking, but she said that there are some dungeons that only allowed the leader in, and others that only allowed us in if Vulcan and I were leading the team.

After that, we went into the Cafe, and everybody looked tired except for Nocturne. That Cacnea could really hold his juice. Anywho, they were all waiting for a plan, and I spoke up, "So… We got some new news from Chimecho. We can divide up the team and tackle multiple dungeons and missions at once. We're going to have to kick our training into overdrive until you're all at Vulcan and my level before we're going to pull off multiple tough missions."

Magnus humphed, "The f***'s that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. It's just that I don't want our team to look bad because we send one of you to a dungeon that's too difficult."

Magnus nodded, and I continued, "Since we don't have that big of a team yet, some of you might have to go alone."

They all nodded, and Vulcan pulled out our mission folder, "Let's see, we've got six missions to-"

"Um… Excuse me!"

We all looked at a poliwhirl, "Hm?"

"Are you Team Firestorm?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Um… Maybe…?"

"Some prinplup handed me this letter and ran off to brine cave. He requested for you specifically."

Atlas raised an eyebrow, "What is it?"

Vulcan grabbed it, and handed it to me as the Poliwhirl strode away. "Hmm… Looks like a challenge letter in Brine Cave. This Prinplup wants to fight us and see who's stron-"

"Dibs." Magnus snatched up the letter with a vine whip before I could even finish, "I call whooping his ass."

I shook my head, "Hold up, Magnus. We need to think about it before-"

He scoffed, "I already thought about it. I want to fight somebody that's not an outlaw, you won't give me s*** when I beat him senseless, and I've got a type advantage. I'm going."

I nodded, "Alright. But Brine Cave is crawling with Ice Beam users, and the prinplup probably knows ice beam too. Be careful."

"Don't f***in' tell me to be careful. I can handle myself." He stood up and stretched his wings, "I'm headed out."

He lumbered out of the cafe, and Vincent laughed, "So, we have six missions?"

I nodded, "Yep. We got two outlaws in treeshroud forest… Rose and Atlas?"

They nodded, taking the missions, and I read the next one, "Two Item fetching quests and an outlaw in… Oh, what do you know, Brine Cave…"

Vincent chuckled, "Wish Magnus would've stayed to hear that."

I looked around, "Vincent and Nocturne, you two will take care of those."

They nodded, taking their letters, "And, lastly, an outlaw in crystal crossing… Vulcan and I will tackle that one. Mirage, today is your day to train at the Dojo by yourself and check for some missions to a beginner dungeon throughout the day."

She whined, "Do I have to?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I know it's not the most exciting, but tomorrow it'll be somebody else's turn."

So, after I dealt the remaining letters and wanted posters out, we all fanned out to our assigned dungeons and missions.

 **-Magnus' POV-**

I was walking through the cave and used whirlwind on a kingler, sending it flying into the wall. _Heh. This place is too easy. I don't know what Connor and Vulcan were talking about._

A Walrein burst out of the water beside me, and I tried to take to the air, but the cave's roof was too low. I hit my head and fell back to the ground hard, "Son of a b****!"

The Walrein used Ice beam, and my wing was frozen solid, making we walk all lopsided. I used vine whip to take care of him, and used Sunny day to melt the ice off. It took a while, but I kept walking, and held the mission out in front of me, "Let's see… Says here he's on the seventh floor… For f***s sake, why'd he have to be so far down?"

I continued, keeping Sunny day active in case of any sneak attacks. When I reached the seventh floor, the cave roof was much higher, and a small blue penguin pokemon that was barely a third of my height.

I looked down at him, and he glared at me, "Who are you? Only team firestorm should be able to find me!"

I held up the letter with a Vine whip, "We got your f***in' letter. And for future reference, I am a member of Team Firestorm." I tapped the badge on my chest.

The little punk scoffed, "A recruit? You're not even worth fighting! I wanted the leaders! The ones that supposedly 'saved the world'!"

He said that last part sarcastically, and I was getting more pissed by the second, "Listen here, you f***in' moron. They did save the world so sorry f***in' pansies like you could keep living in it. And I didn't take this mission to talk. I took it so I could fight. Our leaders are leagues ahead of anywhere you'll ever be, so that's why I took it for them!"

He let a smirk slide across his face, "They probably just sent a recruit because that Charmander is scared of facing a water type. Heh."

I lost it after that. I used sunny day, weakening his water attacks and giving me a speed boost as I charged forward. I used magical leaf, but the stupid prick knew steel wing and blocked them. He followed up with an Ice beam, which forced me to the ground after freezing my back right wing. I stood up and growled, "Oh, so you're that kind of water pokemon…"

He tried to dash forward, but I snared him with vine whip, then used air slash followed by magical leaf. I began constricting him while I held him right in front of me and glared at him, "Let me tell you this… Nobody is allowed to talk s*** about my leaders except for me. Next time, I won't be so forgiving."

He tried to use Ice beam again by opening his beak slightly, but I slammed his mouth shut with another vine whip, "Don't you f***in' dare."

I crushed harder and he passed out, and I growled as he crumpled to the floor, "Great… Now I gotta carry him back for the reward."

 **-Vincent's POV-**

I decided to be a magneton for this mission, just to give our outlaw a scare. He was a Mantine, so it would be pretty funny just to watch.

Anyways, I half expected to see Magnus lumbering around, cursing up a storm about Ice types, but I didn't see him anywhere, so I guess he finished the mission. A Dewgong tried to sneak attack Nocturne, but he used needle arm and knocked it back into the water. I made a paint satchel to put the mission items in, and I gave it to Nocturne since I'd have to move fast. We found both of the items on consecutive floors, which I was happy about. When we got to the outlaw, he looked at me nervously while floating in the air like a kite, but used hydro pump, knocking me into the water.

 _Bet he won't see this coming…_ I transformed into a Lanturn and used thunderbolt from the water, and the mantine fell to the ground. We tapped him with our badges, and were all transported out of the dungeon.

 **-Atlas' POV-**

Treeshroud Forest was pretty tough, I'll admit. A lot of heavy hitting psychics were in there, along with some grass types, but my flamethrower really helped in that. I pulled out the missions while Rose fought off a houndoom, "Let's see… Says here that one of the outlaws is 'unknown, and it's on the floor that we're on… Floor 5…"

Suddenly, Rose was sent flying over my head, and I turned to the Houndoom, who growled at us, and I folded up the map, "Well, I think we found our baddy."

Rose coiled around its legs while I used focus energy, then used karate chop. It went down in two well-placed hits, and sure enough, it dropped a grass gummi afterwards. We kept moving since we didn't need to bring the outlaw back, and we came to an Aggron on floor 12. He looked at us and laughed, and I turned to Rose, "You remember how to deal with a defensive opponent, right?"

She nodded, and we both charged forward.

 **-Connor's POV-**

As we went through Crystal Crossing, more and more memories kept flooding back in of our past adventures. Vulcan chuckled, "Just like old times, huh, Connor?"

I kept a straight face as I looked at the glowing crystal walls, which I remembered were razor sharp, "Yeah. Just like old times..."

Vulcan turned the corner, and the outlaw was waiting for us. A Chingling… Why is it always Chingling? We set foot into the room, and it turned into a monster house. Vulcan threw down a petrify orb, and we made quick work of the entire mob.

I carried the Chingling back after Vulcan used shadow claw to knock it out with two hits, and we both laughed and joked around about how the others were doing on our way out of the dungeon.

 **-Mirage's POV-**

 _Okay… That's enough training. Let's see if there's any missions for beach cave or whatever._

As I went to check, I saw one mission that wouldn't take very long at all. "Get a white Gummi? Easy!"

I snatched it up and went down to the Beach Cave. I walked through the dungeon and found the item in less than thirty minutes. When I got out of the dungeon, it was just past midday. I smiled while basking on the beach, "This is nice… I actually don't mind the off days…"

I dug a pit in the sand and laid at the bottom for a little while before I climbed out and filled it back in, _Well, let's go get a drink. I doubt anybody's back yet._

I put the gummi in storage for when everybody got back, and moved across Treasure Town and to Spinda's Cafe. When I got inside, I saw Magnus sitting at the table, sipping a grass-gummi smoothie with a Prinplup passed out on the floor. I paused on the stairs, and he looked at me, "What?"

I waked over to him, "Um… Magnus?"

"What?"

"Who's that?"

He scowled, "He's the f***in' challenger. Ends up I had to carry him all the way back, just to have to wait for everyone else."

"Shouldn't we wake him up? That can't be good for him, sleeping on the floor like that."

"I'll wake him up when it's time for him to pay up for losing."

I laughed, "Well, I'm sure they'll be along shortly."

 **-Connor's POV-**

That evening after everybody got back, we all gathered our respective outlaws and items and headed to the mission floor to get our rewards from our clients. Magnus carried his client down to the mission floor. He slapped him with a vine whip, and he woke with a start, glancing nervously at Magnus, then at Vulcan and I, "Oh! Uh… You must be the leaders of Team Firestorm! Your recruit won the battle as your representative… Here are your rewards…" He handed us 4000 poké and a mobile scarf. "Good fight, and… Uh… thanksforeverything Bye!" He took off up the ladder, and Officer Magnezone came in to give us all our rewards for our outlaw capturing. We accepted them, and in one of the rewards, we got a dawn stone. Vulcan said that it helps some pokemon evolve, so I made a note to put it in storage.

Mirage's client came next. A Buneary named Alice. She accepted the white gummi and asked to join our team, and after a brief discussion, we agreed. She went off to Chimecho's Assembly thing to get registered.

Next, Atlas and Rose's client came up. It was a Chikorita, and she said that her name was Caroline. She was slightly smaller than a normal Chikorita, but she sure talked big. She turned to us and said, "Hey, I want to be part of your team!"

Vulcan tilted his head, "But… We already have two grass ty-"

She huffed, "So what? I can do things they can't!"

Magnus glared at her, "Oh, yeah? Like what, punk?"

Even though Magnus was several times her size, she glared right back, "Betcha can't use poison powder or Giga Drain!"

He glared at her, and then looked at us for a moment, "Damn. She's good." **(1)**

She raised an eyebrow at him, and I said, "That's Magnus. He's one of the team members."

She snickered, "Magnus? What kind of name is that?"

He raised his wings intimidatingly, "What kind of f***ing name is Caroline?!"

She raised an eyebrow, "What's his deal?"

Atlas smiled and said, "Don't mind him. He's always like that."

"F*** off, Atlas."

She nodded while Magnus hesitantly lowered his wings, "So… am I on the team?"

I looked at Vulcan, and we both nodded, "Sure. Welcome to team Firestorm."

She grinned, "Yay!"

I turned to Vulcan, "Well, then… Two new girl members… This is getting interesting."

Rose giggled, "I'm so excited… I can't wait to see what they're made of..."

Magnus scowled wordlessly, and we all laughed as Atlas and Vincent got to work building more bunks for our new members.

* * *

 **Welp! Chapter 4! Introduction of two new members! Let me know your favorite part so far with a quick Review or PM, and as always, hope you enjoyed! If you are enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a quick review or PM, and be sure to give it a like and a follow to keep updated! If you have any questions, feel free to PM me or leave it in a review! I will see you all in the next update!**

 **Caroline was an OC submitted by ZyroGaming, and Alice was submitted by DeoxysSpeed. Thanks, guys!**

 **1- Chikoritas _can_ actually learn poison powder and Giga Drain, while Cacnea, Cacturne and Tropius can't.**

 **Much Love! -PL**


	5. Sky High Exploration

**-Chapter 5: Sky High Exploration-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

The next morning, I woke up and rubbed my face into the hay, "Holy smokes… Why am I so exhausted?"

Vulcan was already up and munching on a red gummi. He shrugged, "Heck if I know. But I was planning on taking it easy for today anyways."

He tossed me an apple, and I ate it before we went off to meet our team in Spinda's Café. On our way there, we saw some commotion right at the stairs that lead down, a Mr. Mime and Octillery were talking. I walked up, "What's going on, guys?"

They turned to us, and Mr. Mime said, "Apparently there is some happy news for all the Explorers!"

Octillery tilted his head, "I wonder what kind of news they're talking about. I want to go in and find out!"

I turned to Vulcan, and he nodded, "Eh. Why not?"

We went down and found our whole team in the crowd. I stared for a little bit when I saw Caroline perched on Magnus' head like a chair above the crowd, and Vulcan raised an eyebrow at the odd sight, but other than that, nothing was really eye-catching, so we took our spots in the crowd as Spinda began talking.

"May I have your attention please? First of all, I would like to thank each and every one of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and visit us!"

Everyone went quiet, and he twirled around, "Now, I've got some happy news for you all! Has anyone ever heard of a mountain named Sky Peak?"

Somebody in the crowd repeated the name before Mr. Mime spoke up, "I have… It's a really tall mountain in the east. It's said that it's so tall that the peak touches the sky itself. But it's surrounded by an impassable mountain range, so the route there has been lost. That's why it hasn't been fully explored yet."

Spinda nodded, "That is absolutely correct! You sure do know your stuff. As Mr. Mime said, Sky Peak has not been fully explored… Just think of all the mysteries! High enough to reach the sky! The mysterious mountain that holds many secrets…" he threw his arms up and toppled over, still smiling, "That sounds like enough to catch the interest of any explorer! Let's go discover it for ourselves!"

He calmed back down, "I know many of you are thinking that very thing... We are ready to fulfill that wish through project P… We've been working on reclaiming the path to sky peak… And a few days ago, we succeeded!"

Everybody cheered, and he continued, "Furthermore! Fur-ther-more! Not only did we succeed in reclaiming the path… But we also made a discovery! At the base of the mountain… There is a small, hidden village!"

The Heracross next to us mentioned a village of ninjas, and Spinda laughed, "Of course, it is not a village of ninjas, but instead, a village of incredibly rare pokemon known as Shaymin!"

One of the pokemon asked about the pokemon, and Spinda giggle skittishly, "I'm afraid I don't know much about them either, but I have heard that they are incredibly cute!"

An awkward silence fell over the room, and I heard somebody behind us mutter, "I-I'm interested…"

"Furthermore! According to the survey team's report… Near the outskirts of the Shaymin Village… Is a path to the Sky Peak summit! This is a huge discovery! Just think of all the treasures and discoveries waiting to be made! It hasn't been properly surveyed in a long while. Piles of treasure! Many discoveries! Or so I would think!"

I felt the tension in the room start to rise, and Magnus even growled softly. _Oh… So that's how it's gonna be…_

"And on top of all that, there is rumored to be a treasure hidden there that rivals all other treasure!" Everybody cheered and began talking about the possibilities.

"Yes! And it is all waiting for you! I will show you the location of the Shaymin Village." He unrolled a giant map that took up the whole back wall, and began tracing a path with a pointing stick. He started from Treasure Town and moved through the mountain range that divided Immanis until he came to a massive mountain with clouds at the top,"Mark it, people!" Everybody marked it on their maps, and Spinda smiled, "Now, for any further questions, please direct your requests to the Project P survey team on location. So, everyone, let's get moving! With hopes and dreams on our minds and smiles on our faces!"

Some of the pokemon left while others continued talking. Our team met at the usual table right by the stairs, and Caroline piped up after she leapt off of Magnus' head, "This is so cool!"

Alice smiled, "You got that right!"

Vulcan nodded, "This is big, guys. It's a new mission, but more than that, it's a race, too."

I looked at him, "How's it a race?"

Atlas leaned in, "Everybody wants to be the first ones to explore the mountain, especially at the mention of treasure and glory."

Nocturne crossed his arms, "We can't all go, though..."

The whole team's mood shifted, but I nodded, "He's right… Only four members can go at once while exploring a dungeon."

I thought of all the type coverages, and who would prove the most useful… "Vincent, you're first. Your movepool and transforming ability will come in handy for just about any enemies we face."

He nodded, and I could feel the rest of the team's tension. _We can't bring the new members. They aren't experienced enough… I want to bring Atlas, but then again, a mountain has lots of flying types, usually…_ "Rose. You too."

The rest of the team nodded, and Magnus grunted irritably, but complied.

"Caroline and Alice, you two need to train. You'll be training for the next couple days at the dojo. Atlas, Nocturne, could you handle that for now?"

They both nodded, "Sure."

I turned to Magnus and Mirage, "You two… We got three outlaw missions, one is a running away one. They're in the northern desert. You up for it?"

Magnus humphed, "Give me a real challenge. Northern desert? Probably some f***in' ground type. I got this."

Vincent made a paint-woven wonder bag and handed it to Mirage, "It's not as good as a wonder bag, but it gets the job done.

She nodded and accepted the bag, "Thanks," and followed Magnus.

We all filed out, Caroline following Atlas, followed shortly by Alice and Nocturne. Magnus and Mirage left, and now all that was left was Vulcan, Rose, Vincent and I.

She looked around, then at me, "Hey, um… Before we leave, could I go to Luminous Spring? I think I'm ready to evolve."

I shrugged, "Alright, you go on ahead. You'll have to go through Mystifying Forest to get there, though. You know where the mountain path is, right?"

She nodded, "I have a good memory. It's maybe an hour northeast of the spring. I'll catch up to you guys."

We all nodded, and she slithered out of the Café. Vincent watched her as she left, and I nudged him. He gasped, then asked, "What?"

I nodded, "Dude, it's not a big secret. The whole team knows."

He shrugged, "Yeah… I know, but still…"

Vulcan smiled, "Here, let's get you a smoothie."

Vulcan walked over to the bar and ordered one white gummi smoothie, and Vincent chuckled, "Oh, did you see Magnus and Caroline?"

I smiled, "I did. What was that about?"

He shrugged, "From what I heard, she kept pestering him until he gave her a boost to see."

Vulcan raised an eyebrow as he walked back with three gummi smoothies, "Normally Magnus would just fight you if you annoyed him."

I smirked, "Caroline's freakin' fearless. To glare back at Magnus takes some guts, even if you didn't know him personally."

Vulcan nodded, "You got that right. I don't know how she can stand up to him like that, given her typing, size, and everything."

Vincent chuckled as he grabbed the cup of juice and began walking, "Well, to get back to our mission… You want to get going?"

"Yeah."

We decided to skip out on a run to storage since we knew that there would be a kangaskhan rock at the entrance to the mountain. There always are in front of big dungeons.

 **-Mirage's POV-**

Along the way to the desert, I looked over the missions, "Let's see… I'll make a sand trap in front of the stairs for the running outlaw while you chase him away to buy me some time. How's that sound?"

Magnus nodded, "I get to attack him?"

I nodded, "If you can catch him. He's supposed to be really fast."

"Alright. Let's f***in' do this."

After a little while of walking in silence, I looked at the towering pokemon, "Magnus?"

"What?"

"Why was Caroline using your head like a stool back at the cafe?"

He quickly diverted his gaze, "She wouldn't shut up about not being able to see."

"Mhmm…?"

"It was getting f***ing annoying, so I gave her a boost so I could hear what Spinda had to say."

I smiled, "It sounds like you're getting soft. Normally you'd just beat others senseless if they were annoying you."

He pointed a vine whip at me, "You... shut the f*** up. I ain't gone soft. She's a part of the team. Plus, I don't want Connor or Vulcan riding my ass about hitting a Chikorita. It'd be like kicking a baby. It's not fun for anyone."

I smiled slightly, "Whatever you say."

 **-Connor's POV-**

After we left for the peak, we figured out that we had to skirt around Apple Woods to get there. Vincent glided overhead to get a bird's-eye view of our surroundings, and would check in with us when he saw the next landmark.

Pretty soon, we made it to Apple Woods and moved around it. After a little bit, I heard a shuffling noise from the trees. dismissing it as nothing, we kept walking. Vincent decided to glide low to the ground, when suddenly, a long, serpentine shape tackled him out of the air and coiled around him faster than we could react. He was on the ground and began transforming into a Golurk, and Vulcan and I both readied hydro pump and flamethrower. Just as suddenly, the pokemon unwrapped itself from around him and said, "This is really cool…"

The voice sounded familiar, and after we got a clear look at it, Vulcan's eyes widened, "Really, Rose?! You scared us all half to death!"

She smiled, "I know! That was my plan!"

She was a Dragonair now. She had some cool wing-shaped jewels on her ears and a small horn on her forehead, her skin was a darker shade of blue, and she was about fifteen feet long from nose to tail instead of five feet. Vincent looked at her after transforming back into a Smeargle, "Wow… That's… Rose, you're…"

She smiled, "Yeah; I know! I'm gorgeous!"

I tilted my head, "You made really good time… How did you catch up so fast?"

She looked at us, still grinning, "After I evolved, I learned Agility! I feel like I can run around the world and back!"

Vincent just stared at her in awe, and she used her tail to pat his head, "Stop gawking, Vincent. It's not very polite to stare."

He shook his head, "Oh! Sorry… I, uh…"

She giggled, "I'm just joking! Stop acting so serious! Let's get a move on, you guys! I want to see these Shaymin everyone's been talking about!"

Vincent sighed and looked at me with a confused face as he gestured to her, and I shrugged and mouthed, "I don't know."

We kept moving, and pretty soon we were greeted by a lush, green valley with low huts made of branches, leaves, and grass. The place was filled with Pokemon. There were lots from Spinda's Cafe, a group of three pokemon I'd never seen before, and a whole bunch of tiny green pokemon with flowers growing from their fur. On top of that, flower petals blew on the wind, giving the entire area a clean, fresh atmosphere to it.

Rose looked around, "Wow…"

I nodded as well, "Holy smokes…"

Vincent and Vulcan were both looking around at the little green pokemon, and Vincent and Vulcan both asked, "Are those... Shaymin?!"

They both wandered off, and Rose smiled, "This place is incredible…"

We caught up with Vulcan and Vincent, who were chatting with one of the little pokemon, and they both returned to our sides, and the pokemon spoke up, "Welcome to the Shaymin Village! It's nice to meet you! I am Shaymin. I live here in this village." _Wow. Spinda was right. Shaymin are cute!_ "Of course, all the residents of this village are Shaymin… That makes it kind of hard to tell us apart, doesn't it?"

I smiled, "Nice to meet you too! We're Team Firestorm!"

"Did you come to climb sky peak too, Team Firestorm?"

Vulcan nodded, "Yeah, we did. I'm guessing you know the mountain pretty well?"

"That's right. We shaymin have lived here for a very long time. We're here to guide travelers up the mountain. But we haven't actually done that in quite some time. That is, the earthquake that happened here quite some time ago destroyed the mountain path that led here. So explorers from outside couldn't get here very easily, so they stopped coming. We were pretty surprised when the survey team showed up in our little village."

Vincent nodded, "That would be a shock, huh?"

I added, "Shaymin, we heard something else… About a massive treasure at the top this mountain. Is that true?"

Shaymin giggled, "What do you think? Our job is not limited to simply acting as your guides. But in the end, there are some things that those climbing the mountain must discover for themselves. We are assigned to assist in those discoveries."

Vulcan whistled, "That's pretty deep… Um… We'll have to think on that one."

"By the way… Now that we've discussed all this… If you're interested, I could be your guide. What do you think? For some reason, while talking with you, team Firestorm, I've begun to really want to climb the mountain with you."

Vulcan and I looked at each other, and I said, "Alright guys, let's huddle up."

The Vincent, Vulcan and I locked shoulders while Rose formed a circle around us and peered in from over my shoulder. I spoke first, "Um… I think it would be good to have a guide, but that means that one of us will have to head back."

Vulcan shifted, "If you want, I can-"

"No." Rose cut in, "I'm going. You'll need Vincent's move set, and you're the leaders. You aren't going anywhere."

Vincent tried to interject, but she had already slithered over to Shaymin, "We've decided. Shaymin, our team would be honored to have you as our guide. I'll be leaving the group to make room for you."

"Yay! Okay! I'll be waiting at the mountain path entrance for you! The mountain path entrance is just ahead of here. Please check with me once you've finished your preparations. See you later!"

She walked off, and I turned to Rose, "Why'd you do that?"

"Just because. I'll see you guys off at the entrance. Don't worry about it."

I nodded and we went to stock up at the kangaskhan rock. While we were doing that, all of the pokemon that had come from Treasure Town were heading up the mountain. When we finished, we met with Shaymin. Rose snaked up behind us, "Well, I'll see you guys back at Treasure Town!"

We nodded, and Vincent gave her a big hug before we left. Rose blushed and began moving around the village some more, chatting with the other Shaymin.

When we started up the path, Vulcan elbowed him lightly while smiling , "What was that?"

He smiled jokingly, "Shut up. It was… Uh…"

The Shaymin giggled, "You two are cute together."

Vincent looked at her, "Um… Thanks?"

She walked slightly faster to get ahead of us, and I got the feeling that she was hiding a smile, "No problem."

* * *

 **This was chapter five, people! The beginning of the exploration of sky peak! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and as always, go ahead and leave a quick review or PM if you did! Any questions you've got about anything can be voiced in a PM or review as well. I'll see you guys in the next update. Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	6. Trials and Training

**-Chapter 6: Trials and Training-**

 **-Caroline's POV-**

I dashed through the ice/ground maze in hot pursuit of Atlas. He had charged ahead and been pressing me for endurance the entire time. I was gasping for breath about three floors down, but he kept on moving.

"You're brave, and confident. I like that in you," He said after stopping for a quick break.

I smiled, still winded, "Thanks..."

"But…"

That word made my smile vanish, "But what?"

"I was the same way. I was brave and overly confident in my strength. I thought I could beat anybody, anywhere. Then I met Connor. That guy's a tough pokemon to beat. I can tell from the way you snapped back at Magnus when we recruited you that you are very cocky and brave, borderline foolish. That's not going to work against outlaws. You can't overestimate your own strength. And likewise, you can't underestimate your opponents. Speaking of which, here's one now."

I looked at the piloswine that was right in front of us, and it huffed once and roared in our direction. Atlas pointed to it, "Let's see what you've got. It's part ground type, so try a grass-type move."

I nodded, gulping once, "A-alright…"

I used razor leaf, which cut off small patches of its fur, but it shrugged it off and used Icy Wind. I turned my head and braced myself, but when I looked back, Atlas was standing in front of the blast, shielding me. His skin frosted over, but he smiled slightly, the ice cracking around his mouth as he said, "Alright... Um... Hold on."

He looked back at me after he sent the enemy running, "You see? You can't get overconfident. Or rely solely on type matchups." He wiped the Ice off of himself and shivered briefly, "That's cold."

I tilted my head after we found the stairs, "Atlas?"

"Yeah?"

"...Why did you join Connor and Vulcan?"

He looked at me for a moment, "Huh… I never really though about it that much. When I joined them, it was because they had beaten me while they were exploring Mt. Bristle. I hated losing, and I wanted to get tougher, so I joined them. Probably the best decision of my life."

He started walking again, then asked, "So what about you?"

"Huh?"

"Why'd you join?"

I shrugged, "...Same as you, I guess. I wanted to get tougher. I was sick of being picked on because of how tough all the other pokemon were."

He nodded, "Eh. Not all pokemon are built to take hits like a tank. Some are what I like to call 'glass cannons'."

"Glass Cannons?"

He nodded, "Yeah. Most fire types are a perfect example of that. Their strength and speed is really something else, but they usually can't take very many hits before they're down."

I raised an eyebrow, "What's that have to do with me?"

"We just have to find the right style of battling you're good at. It's probably not physical force, as much as I want it to be. Most grass types aren't brute force attackers. Save a few… Like Grovyle and Magnus."

"Grovyle? I haven't seen that team member around."

His eyes widened for a moment before saying, "He's a friend of ours, not necessarily a member of the team… It's… It's complicated."

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

Honestly, I didn't see why I couldn't train Caroline, since we were both grass types, but Atlas had insisted that he train her. I guess he saw something in her that I didn't. Anywho, I was training Alice in the fire/fighting maze, since I wanted a challenge as well.

While she was training, we ran into a couple Houndour, which ended up chasing her halfway around the floor before I used grass knot to trip them up and nail them with a brick break I had learned with a TM.

She leapt onto me and clung to the back of my head, "I do _not_ like this place! The pokemon here are scary!"

I peeled her off, and I smiled, "Hey, that's why we're training you! We want you to get stronger so you can look back and laugh at the pokemon in here."

She looked terrified, but I gently spoke, "Look… Um…" _Well, pep talking isn't exactly my forte._ She nodded, "I have to get stronger, right? So I can help you guys on missions?"

I nodded, "That's right! And in order to do that, you have to train and overcome fear! I used to be scared of this dungeon until Atlas brought me here and forced me to fight until I could make it through easily. Then he'd get Marowak to raise the difficulty again and we'd repeat the next day. He's a real try-hard when it comes to getting stronger."

Alice jumped up, a determined expression on her face, "I understand! I'll do my best to get stronger!"

The next pokemon that she found she faced fearlessly, jumping around like a wound up spring, confusing the opponent until she landed a quick attack on it from behind and knocked it down. I applauded her performance, and she smiled, "I did it!"

I nodded, "You totally did."

Next up we found a Ninetales and she started bouncing again, but it launched an energy ball that caught her in midair and sent her skidding on the ground. She got up, and started to panic, "What now?!"

I smiled, "Relax. Not all opponents can be taken down the same way. Some require a bit more strategy, or a different one entirely."

Alice bounced forward again, and this time the Ninetales met her with its own quick attack. They both collided and she was flung back into me. She growled and got up again, this time charging forward even faster. The Ninetales moved forward again, but at the last second she leapt over its head and came back down with a quick attack on top of it. She sent it sprawling into the ground, then followed up with stomp. She got off and walked back over to me, and I smiled, "Good job!"

She shrugged, "I don't really like fighting like this… It's no fun."

I raised an eyebrow, "You don't like fighting…?"

She tilted her head, "Is that bad?"

I shook my head, which was my whole body, pretty much, "Oh, no. It's fine. That's fine. It's just that I don't really know how to make you stronger if you don't like fighting… I'll have to ask Connor or Vulcan about that."

She nodded, "We just need to figure out what I'm good at for the team in the meantime!"

 **-Connor's POV-**

We weren't travelling for very long before Shaymin said, "We're almost to the first station clearing."

We arrived in a clearing with a kangaskhan rock where a lot of pokemon had gathered. I saw a few regulars at Spinda's Cafe, and team Ebony. I didn't know them, but I'd seen them around a couple times in Treasure Town.

Shaymin smiled, "Sky peak has resting areas labeled station one through nine. Ten, of course, is the summit."

We talked for a little bit to Heracross and Sneasel. Sneasel didn't say anything except that he was the one that was going to find the treasure. Heracross had actually forgotten to pack oran berries, so we gave him one of ours. We packed, like, six anyways. He thanked us with an escape orb, which we hadn't thought to bring, and said that he wouldn't forget our kindness.

We kept moving after Vulcan wrote in the adventure log, and Shaymin lead the way up the mountain. We made it to the second station clearing with little difficulty, and when I looked around at the facilities set up, we were approached by the Breloom from team Frontier. We met the survey team, and they started talking about how they were setting up stations at every other clearing, since the mountain was so vast that rescue missions couldn't be done there. They had set up a Kangaskhan rock, for writing and storage, as well as a drifblim gondola service to carry you further up the mountain when they finished setting up the other bases.

After a quick break, we reorganized our items and set off again.

 **-Mirage's POV-**

"For f***'s sake! Come on! Stop with the rock attacks!"

Magnus was flying through the air with me on his back, dodging a barrage of flying boulders being thrown from all the enemies in the monster house that the Rhydon outlaw had summoned. He used gust, but all of the heavyset rock-types didn't even budge. He used razor leaf after a brief moment, but they just blocked those too. He spoke without diverting his gaze, "Mirage, you ready to give those f***ers a hard time?"

I nodded, "You bet!"

He turned over, allowing me a clear shot to the ground, "Go! Now!"

I dropped off and landed on the sand with a thud and activated earthquake as I hit the ground, knocking all the pokemon over, minus the Carnivine, since they levitated off of the ground. They floated towards me and used vine whip, but Magnus landed in between us, taking the hits, and glared at them, "You guys really chose a bad day to mess with us..."

He used air slash to knock them all back, then onslaughted the rest of the pokemon in the room that were left standing afterwards. He turned, "There. I told you I could handle them."

As he said that, the Rhydon threw a rock at him from behind, pinning one of his wings to the ground. I rushed forward to help, but he pointed at me with a vine whip, "Don't you dare f***in' help me! I live for these kinds of fights." He tugged at his wing, but the boulder wasn't budging, and the rhydon was getting closer, walking casually and smiling.

He took a deep breath as he twisted his whole body, breaking his wing in the process. He grunted in pain and used vine whip to roll the boulder off of him, then turn to face the opponent, who grabbed another boulder from the ground and threw it at him again. He barely dodged it due to his broken wing, and he growled, "You little b****! You're really gonna pay for-!"

Another boulder hit him square in the face, but he just reeled backwards and glared again, "Oh… Bad move."

The Rhydon threw _another_ boulder, but Magnus caught it in a vine whip cradle and launched it right back, then followed up with magical leaf, then another vine whip attack. He cracked the Rhydon's stone skin with the force of his blows, and it collapsed to the ground. He winced as he folded his wing across his back, "Son of a b****!"

I pulled an oran berry out of the small paint bag, "Here."

"I don't need it."

"Yes you do. While you were busy getting pelted with rocks, you forgot that we still have two more outlaws to face."

He glared down at me, "...Just gimme the f***in' berry."

 **-Connor's POV-**

We had made it to the fourth station clearing in really good time, not even bothering with the third one. We were organizing our items when a shout cut through the general conversation in the clearing.

"HELP!"

Everybody turned as Octillery ran into to the clearing, gasping for breath. Mawile stepped forward, "What's wrong?!"

"The explorer Sneasel is getting picked on by this strange group near the 5th station clearing! I'm not much help by myself, so please! Someone come with me to help!"

Machoke gathered up the rest of team Frontier, "Move out!"

Breloom nodded, "Roger! Let's go!" They sprinted out towards the next station.

Shaymin looked slightly worried, "The 5th station clearing… Oh! Don't tell me…!" She turned to us, "Connor! Vulcan! Vincent! We should get going too!"

We nodded and booked it to the next station clearing. Vincent had to transform into a Medicham due to the lots of fighting types in this part of the mountain. We made it through and Shaymin called out, "I can see the 5th station clearing! Let's hurry!"

We arrived at the 5th station clearing, and team Frontier was facing a group of Carnivine, with Sneasel in the middle.

Shaymin nodded solemnly, "Aha! I knew it!"

The lead Carnivine tilter its head, "H-huh? You came to h-help? What do you think you're doing?!"

Mawile faced her back towards them to display her massive hair jaw thing, "We're team Frontier! Only cowards would gang up on one pokemon! This time we're your opponents!"

The Carnivine left Sneasel and floated forward, "Oh! That sounds good!"

Shaymin stepped forward, "Hey! Wait a minute!"

Ignoring her words, Team Frontier and Carnivine began battling one another. Machoke started with seismic toss, throwing one carnivine into another, and Breloom opened with a seed bomb, scattering them. Mawile hung in the back for a moment before rushing in to help. We all got ready to move forward as well, Vulcan setting his hands ablaze and Vincent extending his paint sword and shield.

"Everyone wait a second!" Shaymin called out as she dashed into the center of the battle.

Everyone stopped and stared at her, probably from shock. The lead Carnivine spoke up first, "Huh? You… Oh! A Shaymin from the village! It's been a while!"

Shaymin looked down, "We owe you…" Then she sounded angry, "You haven't changed a bit! We told you to stop bothering explorers before, haven't we?!"

The lead Carnivine backed away, followed by the other four, "Yeah, but that Sneasel started it! We found some treasure earlier, and he snatched it right out from underneath our noses!" One of the other Carnivine looked around, "What the-?! Where'd he go?! That little-! He ran off in the confusion!"

I looked around the clearing, and sure enough, Sneasel was long gone.

Team Frontier was shocked, "Huh…? Really?" "We thought you were the bad guys…" Machoke just stood there, too stunned to speak.

Shaymin turned to them, "Well, you can't exactly say that they're the good guys either."

The lead Carnivine crossed his vine-arms, "Hey! We haven't seen you in so long, Shaymin, and this is how you treat us?! Meh, it's fine… Since it's Shaymin, we'll let it go. The decision to climb the mountain is you own. But I don't like letting other pokemon just do as they please. See you!"

* * *

 **Alright, I'm doing a double upload because I'll be gone tomorrow all day. That being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, go ahead and leave a quick Review or send me a PM if you like the story so far, have any questions, or anything really! It helps to know that my reader people are interacting with me, and not just... reading it. Y'know? I will see you guys in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	7. The Sky's the Limit

**-Chapter 7: The Sky's the Limit-**

 **-Atlas' POV-**

After Nocturne and I both came out with our trainees at the same time, we decided to call it a day. We met up in Spinda's Café for a drink to heal our fatigue from the intensity of it all. I learned bulk up, Dual Chop and Cross Chop while training.

Caroline had actually gotten a lot stronger in the dungeon, finally being able to bring down a Piloswine without being knocked out herself after she learned light screen to lessen the power of its ice attacks. Even if it did take until our second-to-last attempt, she still did good.

 _Speaking of that…_ "Hey, Noc, how did Alice's training go?"

He sipped on his grass gummi smoothie, "Meh. We figured out she's not a fighter. That's about it. It's not that she's unable, but she doesn't really like it."

I coughed on the sip of drink that I had begun swallowing, "Huh?"

"You heard me."

 _How the-?! She doesn't like fighting… I never even thought about that possibility!_

Noc must've read the surprise in my face, because he said, "Hey, relax. We're in a café! Kind of the perfect place for that. She's part of our team. Not everyone has to be a fighter."

I nodded slowly. _That's true… But what can she do, then?_

She spoke up, "I can fight if I have to! I just don't really like it…"

I looked at her, "Oh. Okay. That's… Better."

She seemed kind of upset at that statement. I realized what I had said and quickly scolded myself, "Sorry about that. It's the fighting-type in me.. I always think everybody likes to tussle."

She tilted her head, "Like the food?"

Noc shook his head, "No, that's a Truffle."

She turned to him, "Like the plant?"

"No, that's a brussel." **(1)**

While they continued talking about that, I tried brainstorming ideas for what Alice could do if she didn't like fighting… _Wow… I never actually thought about it… Not fighting… How would you go about it?_

Thinking like that made my brain hurt, so I gave it a rest. _I bet Connor or Vulcan would know how to deal with it better than me._

Noc took another sip, "How'd Caroline's training go?"

I looked at her sipping her oran shake, and I couldn't help but smile, "It went good. She finally knocked out a Piloswine. Her first Ice type opponent."

Nocturne chuckled, "Oh, Arceus, Ice types… In their own way, they are almost as bad as fire types. That's pretty impressive for your first day of training!"

She smiled sheepishly, "Thanks…"

Afterwards, Magnus and Mirage walked into the café. He was carrying a Rhydon and Bonsly, and Mirage was hefting around a Chingling. One of Magnus' wings seemed to be bent, and when Nocturne asked about it, he grunted, "Don't you f***in' worry about it."

Mirage went ahead and explained. "Rhydon nailed him with rock throw three separate times. One of the stones broke his wing."

I cringed slightly, "Ouch…"

He looked at me, "I don't need your f***in' sympathy. It'll heal up in no time." Then he looked at Caroline, then Alice, who were both staring at his wing, "And what are you two lookin' at? This isn't a staring contest."

They both diverted their gazes, and he nodded, then grunted with relief as he shrugged the unconscious Rhydon off of his back and onto the floor.

 **-Connor's POV-**

After Shaymin cleared up that little incident with the Carnivine, and Team Frontier apologized for jumping into a fight instead of listening, we continued up the mountain. When we made it to the 6th station pass, the area started to get more rocky than grassy. Once we reached that clearing, team Frontier said that since the rest of the mountain was covered in snow, they wouldn't be able to set up any more bases. They also said that they were going to make a serious effort to reach the top.

Breloom waved, "See you along the path!

Vulcan and I both packed extra items and prepared for Ice-type enemies just in case. We made sure to stock up on Oran Berries and Apples to keep our energy up, then closed the massive drawer at the base of the statue. Vulcan wrote down in the adventure log, and when he did, we noticed drawings on the pages in the blank spaces that matched what was written down. We saw a really good sketch of us beating down team Skull, of us facing Groudon, and even of Grovyle jumping into the portal back to the future with Dusknoir.

We both looked to Vincent, who had turned back into a Smeargle, and he shrugged, "What? If this is the record of our team, then I want it to be amazing for our successors to read, or maybe even for us to look back on when we're old like elder Torkoal!"

Vulcan closed the book, "How'd you know what the old ruins looked like?"

He shook his head, "I didn't. You guys wrote a lot, so I drew what you wrote."

I smiled, "That's really cool! Thanks!"

We all nodded, and set off again. Shaymin just walked on top of the snow because of how light she was, but we started lagging behind when the snow started to get waist deep. After a while, Vulcan just superheated his skin to melt the snow in front of him as he walked, so we just followed him up the path. A blizzard actually happened at one point, and Vincent turned into a Piloswine, saying, "I'm not about to freeze my tail off."

After we made it through, I was surprised. No Ice types, but a lot of flying types. When we made it to the seventh station clearing, we found team Frontier in front of Sneasel, and he was passed out on the ground. Judging by the hole in the packed snow, he had been laying there long enough to be nearly buried by the snow, and they'd dug him out. Shaymin ran up to them, "What happened?!"

Breloom shrugged, "I don't know. He had fainted before we got here. I don't know if it was because of the cold, or if he ran out of items, but this is dangerous either way."

Shaymin examined Sneasel, "This isn't good at all… I'll go get help."

Mawile turned to her, shocked, "Huh?! Who are you going to call for help up here?!"

"There's a rescue expert at the 8th station clearing. We don't call him for the little things, but emergencies are different. Could you please keep an eye on Sneasel? We're going on ahead!"

Team Frontier nodded and began treating him with a reviver seed, but it didn't want to latch on, which was strange. Normally those would heal you right up.

Shaymin turned to us, "We have to hurry!"

We all nodded and plowed through the flurry again, making excellent time through the ever-deepening snow. Pretty soon Vulcan was melting the snow until we were walking through snow drifts higher than our heads. After a while, the snow began thinning out until we saw a cave up ahead. Shaymin shouted, "The 8th station clearing! Hurry!" When we went into the cave, I shook the frost off of my skin and Vincent turned back into a Smeargle.

Shaymin ran forward, "Ampharos!"

The Ampharos in front of the fire looked towards us, "Oh! A Shaymin from the village! I was wondering who it was. It's been a long time! How have you been?"

Shaymin nodded urgently, "It has been a long time, Ampharos. But there's no time to chat. We're in a hurry!"

Ampharos tilted his head, "Indeed. Did something happen?"

"At the 7th station clearing!"

"Ah… And here I thought I was going to have more guests, but it sounds like that will have to wait."

He began walking out with a small bag, and looked over his shoulder, "Wait for me here."

Shaymin nodded, "We're counting on you!"

We ended up lounging around for maybe half an hour before he came back with Sneasel in his arms and Team Frontier following.

Over the next few minutes of sitting by the fire with Ampharos tending to his wounds, Sneasel eventually coughed, "Oof… Urrgh…"

"Oh! He's awake!" Shaymin said with relief. "Sneasel! Are you alright?!"

"Uh… Where am I?"

Mawile leaned in, "You fainted at the 7th station clearing."

Breloom added, "If Ampharos hadn't carried you here, things would not have gone well for you."

Sneasel looked at the pokemon, who was tending to his wounds, "You did that for me?"

Ampharos shook his head, "Oh, no. It wasn't just me. Everybody here came to your rescue."

"I see… I… Unnh!" He grimaced and clutched at his chest.

Shaymin shook her head, "It's all right. You don't have to say anything. You should really take it easy and rest."

Sneasel complied, not saying anything else as he laid back and closed his eyes. Ampharos turned to us, "I can take care of him. You all can go on through the mountain pass. You were headed to the summit, I'd presume? Well, this is the 8th station clearing. You're almost there! Do your best!"

Mawile crossed her arms, a worried expression on her face, "B-but…"

Ampharos cut her off as he held up his hand, "There's nothing to be accomplished by all of you standing here. I can handle this on my own. Go on ahead."

Breloom stepped forward, "Are you sure…?" Ampharos nodded and Breloom nodded back, "All right… We'll leave Sneasel in your care."

Team Frontier began talking amongst themselves, and I turned to Vincent and Vulcan, "Well, let's go. Ampharos is right. Nothing's gonna get done just standing here."

They nodded, and we prepared for the final stretch before heading back out into the snow.

 **-Caroline's POV-**

After we all went back to the tent for the night, I was laying on my top bunk, "Shouldn't Connor, Vulcan, Rose and Vincent be back already?"

Nocturne's voice replied, "They'll be fine. They've been through tougher times than some mountain. Mystery dungeons speed up time for those inside, so they may be gone for a couple days. Who knows?"

Atlas' voice spoke up as well, "I hope they're not gone for a couple days. I want to know how to approach you and Alice's skillset so we can start making a training schedule or something!"

Magnus grunted, "Can you all shut up? I'm trying to sleep!"

I piped up, "Can you stop being so rude? We're just talking!"

I heard him begin to get up and growl, "And I suppose you're gonna make me, shortstop?"

"Wait 'till I evolve! Then you'll be the shortstop!"

"F*** you!"

Mirage said, "Hey, relax, Magnus. Your wing won't heal if you go around picking pointless fights with your own team."

"...Fine. Whatever." I heard him lay back down.

 **-Connor's POV-**

We had reached the 9th station clearing with almost no trouble. Vulcan had begun talking with Shaymin while Vincent scribbled in the adventure log. In just a few strokes of his tail, he had drawn a giant mountain with a small village at the base.

I looked at it, "Wow… That's impressive."

He closed the book and put it back in its slot, "Thanks."

After a little bit, Shaymin said, "It's only a little further to the summit! Let's keep at it!"

We all nodded and moved forward again. We got real lucky, almost always appearing in the same room as the stairs. When we made it up, Shaymin said, "Oh! I can see it! The summit!"

We came into a foggy, dark purple, sludged up area, and Shaymin gasped, "Th-this is terrible… All of this happened while I was away for so long…"

"Looks like someone else got here first…" Then team Frontier walked up behind us and Breloom looked around, "But what's this?!"

Mawile gasped, "...This is the summit?!"

Shaymin shook her head frantically, "No! Th-this is-!"

She was cut off by some groaning and whining from up ahead. Out of the fog, lots of shadowy figures appeared, three of them larger than the rest.

* * *

 **(1)- RWBY reference.**

 **As always, hope you enjoyed! I'll see you guys in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	8. Persevere Through the Storm

**-Chapter 8: Persevere Through the Storm-**

 **-Atlas' POV-**

When we woke up the next day, I stretched out and woke the rest of the team. Magnus growled and slapped me with a vine whip, but got up after a moment.

The rest of the team sighed and sat up. I clapped my hands, "Well, the bosses aren't back yet; Let's get back to training and missions!"

They nodded, and I said, "Alright… Mirage, can you and Noc handle training Caroline and Alice?"

They all nodded, and I turned to Magnus, "You and me are going to tackle some outlaws."

As I said that, a Dragonair slithered through the entrance. Magnus turned to it and readied air slash, but it reared back, "Hold on! It's me! Rose!"

Magnus glared at her, "You sure it's you?"

She nodded, "Yes, I'm sure! Come on, Magnus! Think for a minute!"

He grunted and lowered his attack, and I looked at her, tilting my head, "You evolved?"

She nodded, "Yup!"

"Where are Connor, Vulcan and Vincent?"

"Something came up and I had to come back. They should almost be at the summit by now."

 **-Connor's POV-**

"This is bad…"

After we got a clear look at the shapes, Shaymin said, "Grimer… Muk… This isn't your home… Please go back to where you belong."

One of the Grimer, the smaller shapes, mumbled, "Liiiiieesss…."

Another said something about driving away cleanliness, and Shaymin sighed, "Looks like we're going to have to get them to come to their senses. Everyone, I'm counting on you!"

We all sprang into action, Vincent turning into a Marowak again while we all dashed into the enemies. Vincent used bone club to knock one Grimer aside while he went straight for a Muk, then used bonemerang to attack others from a distance while he used dig, vanishing into the ground, then launching the Muk into the air a few seconds later.

Vulcan charged in with flame burst, luring a few of the Grimer away with the small orb of light that floated slowly towards the outskirts of the battlefield, then detonating it, blowing them apart. They just came back together again, but they were weakened from having to pull themselves back together.

I used mud slap on some of them, and they reeled back and coughed up a sludge bomb in retaliation. Shaymin used magical leaf, but one of the Muk slammed her with a poison fist, sending her flying. Vincent leapt up and sprouted blue paint wings, catching her and holding her while he used bonemerang from the air.

He got hit with an acid attack and fell to the floor, the skull over his face dissolving. He turned back into a Smeargle before the skull dissolved and made a paint sword and shield, going to work slicing the enemies in two, disorienting them and forcing them to put themselves back together, giving us time to attack while they were down.

The other Muk was confused from Machoke's Dynamic Punch, because it was moving in circles and launching mud bombs in random directions. One almost hit Vulcan, but he dodged as Breloom readied another punch.

Vulcan used inferno after charging straight into the middle of the clearing, which actually sucked in the grimer and muk like a vaccuum. They were all thrown into the air, then dropped, and when the flames died down, they groaned and held their injuries.

Shaymin shouted, "Have you come to your senses yet, Grimer and Muk?"

One of the Grimer tilted its head, "Huh?"

Another one backed up in shock, "Oh! Shaymin!"

"What happened while I was away for so long? You know this isn't your home, right?"

"H-huuuhhhh? This is so our hooome… Seeee? Diiirty and griiiimy…"

Shaymin looked down, "I see… Dirty and Grimy… Because nobody's come here in so long…" She looked back up, "I'm sorry, Grimer and Muk… This is the mountain summit…"

"Huuuuhhh?! The summit?!"

"It can't be….!"

Shaymin shook her head, "I think it fell into disrepair because nobody visited it for so long… But we can't leave the summit in this condition. Can you please return to your homes? Please? I'm asking you."

One of the Grimer looked around, "Wh-what? This is the summit? I didn't notiiiice."

Another one bowed, "Sorry, Shaymin. We'll go home."

Shaymin smiled, "All right! Thank you! I'll visit you with a token of thanks later! Bye!"

"Okay. Bye-byyyye." They all left down the sides of the mountain, and Shaymin looked around, "Where are we…? We need to clean this place up… Restore it…"

Mawile gasped in shock, "Restore it? How can we possibly…"

"We shaymin have a special ability to clean up pollution by absorbing dirt and other stuff like that. But cleaning up this mess is no small task… Here goes nothing…"

She planted herself in the ground and began glowing. As she did, purple smoke began lifting from the grass and water and into his leaves. The pollution turned them from green to dark purple, and the ground began trembling as more and more smog was sucked in.

She grunted, "Get down, please!" Energy started swirling around her and condensed, when suddenly there was a flash of light.

After the spots were out of our eyes, we were looking around, and the summit was completely clean. Pink flowers everywhere on top of bright green grass. It looked like a postcard, with a slightly cloudy sky and the sun shining through.

Team Frontier gave a look around and Breloom commented first, "W-wow…"

Mawile looked at the scenery, her eyes sparkling with joy, "This is the summit? It's such a change from what we were looking at before… It's so beautiful…"

Breloom added, "I've never seen such beautiful scenery before!"

Machoke looked around in stunned silence.

Shaymin smiled and shouted, "Congratulations on reaching the summit!"

Machoke cheered, "Wow! We did it!"

"At last! We've reached the summit!"

I looked around, "This is really pretty…"

Vincent turned back into a Smeargle, "Holy smokes… We have to bring the rest of the team here some time…"

Mawile had walked a few feet over, "Hey, guys! Check this out!" We all walked over and saw tons of mountain peaks sticking out above the clouds. And when we looked up, we could see stars, even though it was daytime.

We heard Team Frontier gushing praise about how awesome the mountain was and how glad they were that they climbed the mountain. I was glad too. Vincent had taken a piece of paper from his paint bag and began drawing a picture on it. When he finished, he showed us. It was an almost perfect painting of what we saw in front of us.

Mawile, still awestruck, said, "This must be the fabled treasure that is superior to all other treasures…"

Breloom turned around, "Shaymin… Thank you so much for guiding us here."

Shaymin grinned, "My pleasure! I had fun climbing with all of you! So thank you very much! We should do this again some time!"

Mawile nodded, "Yes!"

Shaymin gleamed, "Well, it seems like you really enjoyed the view from the summit. Should we head back to the base of the mountain?"

"Yeah!"

Then, an awkward amount of silence followed, with the wind being the only noise.

Mawile's face dropped, "Heading back means…"

"Aaaah!" Breloom shouted, "We didn't think about how to get back down! You've got to get back down?!"

Machoke once again stood there, speechless. Vincent turned into a Braviary, "I could probably carry my team..."

Shaymin smiled, "There's no need for that. It's fine. I can take you back to the base of the mountain, no problem."

Mawile tilted her head, "How would you do that?"

Shaymin turned to the pink patch of flowers, "There is a special flower here called the Gracidea. It's a special flower for us Shaymin. How is it special, you ask?" She nuzzled one of the flowers, and her leaves began glowing as she transformed into a taller, leaner body with four wing-like things on her head. "I just touch the flowers like this and I change forme temporarily!"

All of us stood there, awestruck.

Breloom stared at her, "Wow… Are you really that adorable, Shaymin…?"

Shaymin giggled, "Hee-hee-hee! While I'm in this form, I can fly."

Mawile perked up, "You can fly? That means…"

Shaymin and Vincent walked to the edge of the summit, "That's right. Flying is so much fun! Vincent can probably relate, right?"

He ruffled his feathers, "It really is a blast…"

Shaymin continued, "It's not much, but it's a gift from me to you! Let's soar down the base of the mountain! Hold on tight!"

Vulcan and I climbed onto Vincent's back while Team Frontier lined up behind Shaymin, and we took off down the side of the mountain. Halfway down, Vincent and Shaymin had started to race, going so fast that if Machoke hadn't been holding on in the front then team Frontier would have probably fallen off of Shaymin on the way down.

 **-Atlas' POV-**

We had been lounging around in the cafe for a few hours when Connor, Vulcan, Vincent and team Frontier walked in. We all greeted them with hugs and congrats. Vincent actually painted a portrait of the scene they had looked over, and we were all awestruck by the detail of it.

He smiled, "That's nothing compared to the real thing! Now that we've went up the hard way, we can just fly to the top whenever!"

We all nodded and got some drinks in celebration. I asked Connor about what to do with Caroline and Alice, since I wasn't really suited for training grass types, Nocturne wasn't too keen on training others, and Alice doesn't like fighting. He shrugged, "Well, we just need to keep trying different stuff until we figure something out."

Vulcan added, "We could probably ask Team Core..."

"I heard that they were super busy, though," Connor finished.

 **-Connor's POV-**

As the evening went on and the recruits were talking, I heard conversation of Mirage and Nocturne heading out to evolve.

Nocturne jokingly hit Atlas' arm, "What about you, muscles? You've been ready to evolve for a while, I've heard!"

He leaned back, kicking his feet up and smiling, "Nah. I'll stay this size for a little bit longer. Besides, I learned Cross Chop while training with Caroline. I've only got a couple more moves to learn. When I learn them all, then I'll evolve."

Nocturne nodded, "Suit yourself! I can't wait to be taller and stronger!" Mirage added, "I can't wait to fly! Of course, I'll be giving up my trapper specialty… Are you alright with that, Connor?"

I nodded, "That's cool. We can always find another role for you to fill with your new form!"

Alice beamed, "I can't wait to evolve either!"

Vulcan pulled out a book from his wonder bag, and I raised an eyebrow, "What's that, Vulcan?

"This? It's a book on what every pokemon's reqirements to evolve are. I recall something about a Buneary having to do something in order to evolve besides level up enough." He was flipping through the pages until he smiled, "Here it is! Alice, it says here that you need… Two stars of IQ? What's that?"

I shrugged, "Beats me. Let's ask Chatot."

We headed to the guild for a moment and when we asked, he said, "Well, IQ skills are various skills acquired through the consumption of numerous gummies, whether they be plain or made into a drink! There are certain skills that are indispensable, of course, but the stars of IQ are, to save us from going into length about this, how many skills they have learned."

I tilted my head, "So… The more gummies we eat, the smarter we get?"

"Not smarter, necessarily, but something similar to that."

I nodded, "So in order to evolve, Alice has to eat lots of gummies?"

Chatot tilted his head, "Who?"

I shook my head, "She's a recruit. A Buneary."

"Ah. Yes, she will have to consume many in order to reach the proper IQ level to be able to evolve."

We nodded, "Thanks! That's what we needed to know!"

When we got back, Alice jumped up, "We need to find lots of gummies, then!"

I nodded, "We have a lot in storage, but we're saving them for any new members. We'll have to find you white gummies specifically."

She nodded, "Alright…"

Vulcan flipped through his book again, "Say, Caroline, I think you can evolve at least once now. Why don't you want to go?"

"Same reason as Atlas. I only have a few more moves I can learn in this form. I want to learn them all first."

Rose was coiled up to the side, chatting with Magnus, who seemed in a relatively good mood in spite of his broken wing. None of us had questioned it, but Mirage had told us what happened when we got back.

After that, we just talked for a little while longer, Alice grabbing all six white gummies and asking spinda to make smoothies out of them in an attempt to up her IQ. After she drank them all, she ended up almost passing out from over-consumption. We all chuckled a bit, and as we left for the night, Atlas carried her back to the tent, since she could barely walk.

* * *

 **Alright, this one was posted a bit late! Sorry about that! Happy memorial day to those of you in the U.S.! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you did, leave a quick review or PM me with any questions about whatever you want to know! I'll be sure to respond to any questions asked! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	9. An Icy Mission

**-Chapter 9: An Icy Mission-**

 **-?'s POV-**

"Master Victor, I have brought news of Team Firestorm."

"...Well? Go on, don't keep me in suspense."

"They have grown in size considerably. They are now ten members strong, and still growing, now that they are independent from the guild."

I paused, taking in this information, "...And what of Team Core?"

"After they learned that we were aware of their presence in Treasure Town, they have disappeared from our detection. Seth must have teleported them far… far away."

I grunted, "Well, tell Rogue to find them! They can't have travelled off of Immanis! Even that blasted Gallade's strength is limited."

"Right away, sir!"

 **-Connor's POV-**

Over the course of the next few days, a few notable things had happened. Rose offered to lead Mirage and Nocturne to Luminous Spring to evolve, since she'd gone there already. Nocturne evolved into a Cacturne, becoming much taller and borderline scary looking. He learned mean look immediately after evolving, which basically paralyzed us if we looked into his eyes while he was using it. **(1)** He also learned Destiny bond, which, when activated, if he was to be knocked out or killed, the opponent would suffer the same fate. He said he'd save it for when he was facing some majorly tough opponent, then use a reviver seed.

Mirage evolved into a Vibrava, and now she was able to fly around wicked fast, but she didn't like that she had to give up her sand trap ability. She tried to dig a sand pit at the beach, but Vibrava weren't meant for that, so she came back upset, but Caroline cheered her up by saying, "Don't worry! You just have to use your speed to your advantage now to chase down outlaws and stuff!"

Also, Magnus' wing was healed up after he used roost a few times. He hadn't even thought about using healing moves until Rose mentioned it.

After they got back, we found a mission to Midnight Forest. After mine and Vulcan's experience with the Torterra in Mystifying Forest, we wanted somebody to recon it before we charged in headfirst with Vulcan at the helm. We originally went to Vincent for recon since he could transform to blend in, but he and Magnus had to go and capture a Pidgeot in some mini dungeon called Peaceful Meadow or something, since they were the only two that could fly, besides Mirage. But she wasn't that used to her body yet, so we let her train again for today.

When we found out that Midnight forest was pretty foggy, we chose Rose, since she had an item that made her practically invisible in that kind of weather. Also, we found a Tropius Bow for Magnus, which inflicted a random status condition on attacking enemies. He refused at first, saying items are for wusses, but after we told him what it did, he asked, "It'll put opponents to sleep if they hit me?"

We nodded, and he stared at us, "...Gimme."

He tied it around his neck, and Nocturne whistled, "That actually looks pretty good, Magnus!"

He nodded, "It'd better."

After that, Vulcan lead Magnus, Atlas and Nocturne to learn some new moves from Electivire.

Vulcan learned Dragon Dance and Dragon Rush, Magnus learned Bullet seed and Synthesis, Nocturne learned Drain Punch, Counter and Seed Bomb, and Atlas learned all three elemental punches.

When we put them to the test in the Dojo, their new moves were so good. Vulcan used dragon dance three times in a row while hanging back for a moment, then charged forward with Dragon Rush at blinding speeds, barreling through almost any opponent.

Magnus used Bullet seed to attack Ice types from a distance while he closed in with body slam, and on top of his solar power ability, when he uses sunny day, then synthesis, he is almost restored to as good as new. I could tell he really liked that, since he used sunny day anyways for a speed and power boost due to his abilities.

Atlas could use two elemental punches at once, making one fist flaming while another buzzed with electricity to tackle enemies that resisted one or the other. Few pokemon could resist his onslaught. Not even Dragon types could hold up once he switched to Ice punch.

Nocturne's drain punch was super useful for those pesky steel types. He used counter to dodge and parry all the opponent's attacks, then lash back with a massively powered up drain punch. He also figured out how to make different seed bombs, for different effects. He could make a smoke bomb, a flash seed bomb, regular exploding, and even status inducing seed bombs. They took some concentration to make, but he could still do it.

We also got promoted to super rank since we have gotten so many missions done, and it lead me to wonder how many ranks there are.

After a couple days, we were headed to Spinda's Cafe to discuss missions for the day, when we saw Mirage talking to Mr. Mime. She waved us over, and Mr. Mime kept talking, not bothered by our arrival, "-whose fame stretched across this entire world. He truly had a reputation that all explorers aspired toward. But Scizor went missing while exploring Blizzard Island, far in the southwest. Many exploration teams set out to find and rescue the great explorer, but one and all, they were turned back by the bitter cold and swirling blizzards until none dared try again. It is a tale from many years ago."

Vulcan raised his hand, "I got a question." Mr. Mime looked at him, and he asked, "If it's an island far away, how'd they get there in the first place? I know that crossing the sea is no mean feat." **(2)**

Mr. Mime rolled out his wonder map, "Oh, there are many mystery dungeons under the ocean that lead to anywhere you could want! Crisscrossing the sea, through islands, there are even entire underwater cities from an ancient civilization! Or so I've heard!"

He pointed to a spot between Drenched Bluff and Tiny Meadow, a small dungeon that I didn't know existed, "It's around here. It's shielded by high cliffs from the bluff and such, so it's easy to miss unless you're looking for it."

After Vulcan marked the location on our map, he rolled it up and Mr. Mime looked around, then leaned closer, "Also, there have been rumors. They say that the great explorer Scizor was looking for an amazing treasure." He stood up again, "You're an incredible team, Team Firestorm, with your saving the world and all. No exploration teams have gone to Blizzard Island since they called off the rescue efforts years ago. By any chance, would you be willing to go? I hear that the island is in the southwest of the map."

On the map, the clouds parted over an ice-covered island, and Vulcan thanked Mr. Mime, then whispered to Mirage and I, "Planning time."

We all went into the cafe and sat around the table with the rest of the team. Vulcan pulled out the map, "Alright, team… Mirage found us a new dungeon." Everybody leaned in, and he continued, "According to Mr. Mime, some famous explorer named Scizor went off chasing some crazy treasure in a place called Blizzard Island. The only problem is… He went missing. But he was alone; We're a team! We'll succeed where he failed!"

The whole team nodded and grunted their approval, and Vulcan looked at them all, "So… Who wants to come with us?"

"I can't stand up to the cold, or Ice." Nocturne started. Rose nodded, "Neither can I."

Vulcan said, "Alright… Magnus?"

He scowled, but eventually said, "...I'll stay here. Ice f***in' sucks. A lot."

Mirage sighed, "I want to go, but I'm super weak to Ice…"

I looked at Atlas, who shook his head, "No fur, man. I'm not about to get frostbite."

Alice offered, "I can-"

"No." Vulcan said. "Sorry, but I don't want to put you or Caroline in unnecessary peril. If this dungeon is half as dangerous as I think it is, then we're going to have trouble, even with me at the helm."

She nodded, "Okay. I understand."

I looked around, "Uh… That leaves Vincent, and… Vincent."

Vulcan seemed to realize the problem as well, "Wow… Almost all of you guys are weak to Ice-type environments… That's problematic."

Vincent nodded, "I got you, bosses. We can do this."

Vulcan nodded, "Alright. Three-man team it is!"

I looked at Nocturne and Rose, "Can you two train Alice and Caroline some more while we're out?"

They nodded, and Vulcan looked at the rest of the team, "Alright; Now for the missions…"

I interrupted, "Rose, by the way, did you recon Midnight Forest?"

She nodded, "Yes. Mostly bug types, with three grass-type species and a couple normal types. Vulcan. You or Magnus would be able to tear right through it. I was in and out without anybody knowing I was there."

I nodded, smiling, "Good. Now, about the missions, Vulcan?"

He continued, "As I was saying… Missions. We've got a Steelix outlaw in quicksand cave. I want at least two of you going up against him, just to make sure you can handle it. Steelix aren't pushovers. Atlas, you're obviously first choice against steel-types. I would also say Magnus… But… No offense, but you wouldn't be able to do much against this baddy. So… Mirage. This is your first mission with your new form. You up for it?"

She nodded and hummed, "Of course! Let's go, Atlas!"

Atlas took the letters, and the two of them left. Vulcan turned to Magnus, "Now… For you, I've got a challenge letter. I know how much you love a challenge."

He nodded, "Don't tell me its some prissy water type again. Give me a real fight!"

Vulcan replied, "I will. It's actually a Raichu in Amp Plains. You sure you'll be alright against such a strong electric type?"

He scoffed, "Of course I'm f***in' sure!"

He snatched up the letter and walked out. Alice looked at us, "All the white Gummies we find, I can have, right?"

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly, "Sure. If you want to evolve that badly."

She jumped up, "Yay!"

Nocturne and Rose took the new recruits to the Dojo, and Vincent looked at us, "So… To Blizzard Island we go?"

I nodded, "Yep. Let's boogie, before we come to our senses."

* * *

 **1- Cacturne can't actually learn Mean Look, unfortunately, but when I wrote it, I thought it could, so I'm sticking with it.**

 **2- This isn't something that's addressed in the games. Connor can't swim that large of a distance, and Vulcan's a fire-type, so i'm using my fanfiction powers to make stuff up.**

 **Alrighty! Chapter 10! As always, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick Review if you did, and if you have any questions, feel free to PM me! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	10. Frost and Water

**-Chapter 10: Frost and Water-**

 **-Atlas' POV-**

"Well… This outlaw has a monster house…"

Mirage had flown in and used earth power, but the Steelix had leapt up and dodged it, which took us both by surprise. It snaked towards us while I fought off a Hippowdon, which had whipped up a sandstorm. Mirage's sand bow that was in the treasure bag made her practically vanish into thin air once the sandstorm was started. I had specifically packed a weather band to protect me from the raging sands, since I knew that Steelix (the species) liked causing sandstorms.

I heard a humming noise to my left as I grappled with a Skorupi, and Mirage snatched it up and threw it into the wall. All I saw of her was a faint shadow for a split second before she seemed to turn into sand, vanishing into the swirling maelstrom.

I felt the air move around me, and I ducked as the Steelix' tail swung over my head. I ran in closer and used My arms glowed and radiated power, and I dug my hands into the Steelix' hide, crumpling it like tin foil.

It roared, then I heard a screeching noise come from my right, and Steelix bellowed in outrage before I hefted him up and threw him into the wall, shaking the entire cave. He slithered towards us again, and Mirage used earth power to explode the ground beneath him, sending him sailing over my head. Mirage used dragonbreath on a Sandslash that was behind me, then I followed up by knocking back a Pupitar.

The Steelix was back up, and actually hit me with an Iron tail, but I held on, climbed up his body and used brick break on his face, knocking him down.

Mirage used earth power again, and I used cross chop to knock him into the attack. He fainted, and the sandstorm subsided after the Hippowdon was knocked out. Mirage rematerialized, and she panted while hovering over me, "That… That was fun…"

I nodded, "How's he gonna fit in the guild, though?"

She shrugged, "We could call Officer Magnezone to come get him from here."

"Not a bad idea. I'll keep an eye on him while you go get him."

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

"You're kidding me…"

Vincent shook his head, "I don't think so, Vulcan. The path is definitely there."

Connor shrugged, "A little water won't kill you."

I shook my head, "The path's _underwater_!"

Connor laughed, "Stop exaggerating! It's barely ankle-deep."

Vincent turned into a Wailord after he dove into the water, "How about we just swim there? Cuz I don't feel like dealing with any mystery dungeons."

We all nodded, and we decided to ride on Vincent's back. It was pretty comfy, and we sailed across the ocean, following our map.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

"Come on, hit me with your strongest attack!"

Caroline launched a magical leaf attack at me, but it barely even scratched my skin. She charged forward, and I readied needle arm. I took a step forward but tripped on something, and she landed the body slam, knocking me into the wall. When I got up, a grass knot was tied around my ankle. I sliced it with a magical leaf, and when I stood up, I looked at Caroline, "Good job. Diverting my attention with other moves."

I crouched into my fighting stance, "Now, it's my turn. Try defending!"

She nodded, and I started off with mean look. She diverted her gaze to my chest as I charged forward and readied needle arm. She raised a barrier, which slowed down my strike enough for her to leap out of the way and use razor leaf on my backside. I turned and threw a flash seed bomb, but she turned her head and used grass knot as I dashed forward.

I tripped up, but didn't fall, and she let out a yelp as she jumped out of the way, my attack only missing her by a hair. She tried to tackle me, but I used mean look again, and she was immobilized, staring at me, unable to break eye contact.

When I broke eye contact, she gasped and I saw tears in her eyes as she was unfrozen.

 _Oh, no…_

"Hey… Caroline…?"

She seemed terrified, and I looked around nervously, "Hey, it's alright… I'm not going to hurt you. That was mean look. It's supposed to make you scared… Um..."

She fell to the ground and tears began trickling down her face, and I stepped closer, "Hey, I didn't mean to scare you that badly. Stop crying, please…"

"Your eyes… They were horrible..."

I shook my head and looked at the roof, "It shouldn't make a pokemon _cry,_ though..."

Suddenly, she turned around and body slammed me at point blank range, sending me sprawling.

My jaw dropped as I got up, and the tears were gone, replaced with a triumphant grin on her face, and I gasped, "You tricked me?"

She nodded, "Yup! It was sooo easy! Your eyes were pretty paralyzing, but not to the point of making me cry! Please, I'm tougher than that!"

I shook my head as I walked over and towered over her, "That actually scared me a little. I did not appreciate you using fake tears."

"Who said it was a move I used? Who said I can't just act?" **(1)**

I shook my head at her, "That's low, girl. Real low..."

She smiled, "But it worked!"

I nodded, and tried my best not to laugh now, "That, it did…"

 **-Alice' POV-**

"Hold still!"

I slithered around the practice maze walls and across the ceilings while Alice tried to land a hit on me. We'd done some practice in the Dragon Maze, and she had learned Agility, but I could level that speed boost out with my own.

"Come on, Alice! You have to know how to fight, even if you never think it will come to that!"

She leapt forward, but I twisted my body and dodged as she skidded to a halt and leapt again. I used aqua tail to bat her away, but I made sure to hold back and only do light damage. She looked at me and leapt forward again, except this time she used quick attack. I was barely able to dodge that move, and when she landed, I used dragonbreath. She leapt out of the way and used double team, and I used thunderbolt to throw her off. The illusory copies disappeared, and I used slam to knock her down.

She tried to leap at me, and I prepared to bat her away again, but at the last second, her hand glowed, and I was teleported exactly where she had been a moment before, in midair. I turned around, but she hit me with a dizzy punch as I flew towards her, and I hit the wall and fell to the floor. I righted myself and smiled, "Impressive use of baton pass, Alice!"

She smiled, "Thank you!"

I coiled up, "Now… I won't be taken down so easily a second time!"

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

Connor shivered, "Well, they don't call it Blizzard Island for nothing."

I nodded, "You got that right." I superheated my skin to warm the air around me, and Vincent turned into a Mamoswine while we looked at the island. The water on Vincent's fur had already frozen over, and he shook the ice off in chunks, "Well… No time like the present to do some recon."

He walked into the dungeon casually after we handed him an escape orb, and we waited for what felt like forever before he appeared next to us in a flash of light.

We looked at him, "What did you find?"

"A multitude of Ice types, of course. Nothing you can't handle, Vulcan. There were a few different water types, but if I turn into an Abomasnow or something, they shouldn't be too troublesome. For a brief summary, there isn't that big of a threat from any of the enemies in here. But the dungeon is huge. Like, there's another one towards the end that leads into an ice cave, but it gave me chills just standing in front of it, like there was something big and dangerous down there."

I nodded, "Probably what Scizor faced if he went missing…"

We all looked at the looming entrance, and I could feel the sense of foreboding that washed over us.

I shrugged, "Well, let's get a move on! We didn't come this far to back out!"

We all moved forward, and the trademark disappearing entrance of Mystery Dungeons set in.

 **-Connor's POV-**

 _Phoo… It's so cold here…_

While we were travelling through, Vulcan kept outpacing Vincent-Mamoswine and I, "Hurry up, slowpokes!"

"Easy for you to say! You're a walking snow melter!" I countered.

He slowed down to let us catch up, and said, "So… This place is huge."

Vincent nodded, "I told you that in the beginning."

He was right. After fifteen floors, I stopped counting. I learned endeavor some time in the dungeon, so that meant I had made some progress. Basically, I lowered the opponent's energy level to mine, if mine was lower. I didn't really find a use for it, since I didn't feel like sandbagging until I was that low on energy, but it was a good backup move just in case I couldn't heal.

Along the way, we recruited a female Snorunt, which we named Jade. Vulcan said that a Froslass would be cool to have on the team eventually.

I nodded, "One solid Ice type enemy, and three-quarters of our team are down. Having an Ice type would help to be able to train against other Ice-types."

A few floors later, we came to the cave that Vincent described. It was more like a crack in the cliffside. I leaned in closer, and a weak gust of cold air blew out. But somehow it felt… hostile.

It was probably right up there with Dusk Forest on the 'creepy scale'. Vulcan looked at it, "Well… It leads underground. Vincent?"

He nodded, "I got you, Vulcan." He morphed into an Absol, "Now I'm ready for anything!"

Vulcan pointed, "There's a kangaskhan rock over there. Let's stock up for tough enemies."

While we were doing that, I felt an unfamiliar presence… Like, somebody, somewhere, was watching me. I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, but it didn't make me any more eager to go into the cave.

 _Well, no take-backs._

* * *

 **1- Chikorita can't learn fake tears. But in this world, pokemon can act!**

 **Once again, I hope you guys enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick Review if you did, and PM me with any questions you've got about whatever, including OC submissions, story ideas, or anything, really! I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	11. Restart our Frozen Hearts

**-Chapter 11: Restart Our Frozen Hearts-**

 **-Magnus' POV-**

As I barreled straight through the dungeon, I couldn't help but laugh. _Amp plains? What does that show about his strength? Probably looking for a f***in' home field advantage. I doubt he's expecting a flying type._

I used vine whip on the Mareep and followed up with Body Slam, and pulled out the note, "Says here he's on the fourth floor… And I'm on the third… Pfft! Let's go right f***in' now!"

I found the stairs and came to the challenge room. The stupid punk asked the same question as the f***in' prinplup. "Who are you?"

"I'm Magnus. Member of Team Firestorm."

The Raichu nodded, "They sent a flying type willingly against me? Haha! Let's go!"

He opened with a thunderbolt attack, but I used razor leaf to draw away the attack as I flew forward. **(1)** He tried to use discharge, but I slammed into him and used sunny day, clearing up the sky and boosting my speed and attack. I followed up with a magical leaf, but he used light screen to deflect them and leapt at me. I tried to dodge, but suddenly I couldn't move. He nailed me with a thunder punch, and I grunted, "Fan f***ing-tastic. Static is the most annoying ability ever!"

He hit me again, but my band scattered some kind of spore all over him in a counter, and he collapsed, asleep.

I used body slam for good measure after the paralysis wore off, then tapped my badge on him, "Oh! Who's the f***in' one with an advantage now, huh?!" I slapped him with my badge, and we were transported back.

 **-Jade's POV-**

After those three defeated me, I decided to go introduce myself formally to the rest of their team. When I came to the guild, they said to talk to the Chimecho about team registration. So, I walked in, and she pointed me to Spinda's Cafe, saying that that's where my new team would be meeting normally.

I nodded and tapped my badge, which was a shade of blue like the ice on Blizzard Island. When I got to the cafe, I stood in front of the stairs, trying my best to maintain my composure.

I looked at the teams gathered as I walked down the stairs, and matched my badge colors to four pokemon that were conversating at the nearest table. A Cacturne, Dragonair, Chikorita and Buneary. I walked over to the table, and said, "Hello."

They stopped talking and looked at me, and the Dragonair smiled, "Hi! Are you a new recruit?"

I nodded, "Yes. I was recruited by Vulcan, Vincent and Connor on Blizzard Island."

She shook my hand with her tail, "Well, I'm Rose!"

The Cacturne looked slightly intimidating, but nice enough as he smiled, "I'm Nocturne!"

"I'm Caroline!" The Chikorita grinned.

"And I'm Alice!" The Buneary finished.

I looked at them all. _Only seven before me? A fairly small team, but I guess it is quality over quantity._

Rose glanced behind me, and I turned to face a Tropius with a Raichu on its back. I saw the same colored badge pinned to its neck band, and it grunted, "Who are you supposed to be?"

"I'm Jade."

The Tropius nodded, "Meh. They've been slacking on strong recruits." Then sat down at the table as the unconscious Raichu rolled off of his back.

He mumbled something about static, and I sighed. _A hotheaded brute… Marvelous._

Caroline looked around, "Where's Mirage and Atlas? They should be back by now."

A Vibrava flew in in a blur of motion just after that, "Sorry we're not back yet, guys! The Steelix was a pain to get out from underground." She then turned to me, "Oh? A new recruit?"

I nodded, "Yes. I'm Jade."

She landed on the ground without a sound and crawled forward, "I'm Mirage!"

We shook hands, and she turned to the others, "I have to lead Officer Magnezone to the outlaw! Catch you later!"

I turned, "If you'll excuse me, I will be training. It won't do to be left behind in power!"

 **-Connor's POV-**

As we journeyed into the cave, we found out how much we really needed Vulcan for this mission. There were evolved forms of the enemies outside, along with Mamoswine, Slaking, and Weavile.

We kept moving, not really finding any good recruits, but there was something worse that I couldn't shake. I felt a pair of eyes watching me with every step I took. I felt chills constantly crawling up and down my back, and it made me really paranoid of the walls, since I knew how sneaky ghost types were. One look at Vulcan and Vincent, and I could tell that they were thinking the same thing.

When we got to the rest area, my skin was frosted over, and Vulcan's heat was severely reduced. Vincent's coat was frozen over, but he shook the freshly piled snow off and turned into a Typhlosion. I moved closer to him, and as the snow began to melt as I warmed up, Vulcan wrote in the adventure log and turned to us, "Alright… We're halfway there. Let's keep at it!"

During those few floors, there was constant hail, but since Vincent and Vulcan radiated so much heat, it didn't even hit them before evaporating. I floated a boulder above my head using ancient power. Before long, we made it to the bottom, and Vincent asked, "Is this the bottom of the dungeon?"

Looking at the clearing in front of us, I nodded, "I think so…"

Vulcan narrowed his eyes, "What's that over there? That block of ice… Whoa! There's a Scizor frozen in there!"

I nodded as I narrowed my eyes to get a good look at the block of ice, "Maybe it's the explorer Scizor… But what could have frozen him?"

A snowstorm began picking up, and a tinkling laugh echoed throughout the cave. Vincent sighed as he turned back into a Mamoswine, "You had to ask…"

"Visitors… What a rare sight…" Another laugh. It sounded kind of like Celebi's, but more… Evil. Or crazy. One of those two.

Suddenly, the snow condensed in front of us, and a shape appeared. Vulcan and I looked at each other before we looked back at the figure, "Allow me to welcome you… I am Froslass. I play host to the infrequent visitors to this frozen winterland!" She clasped her hands, and the snow died down, "Now… It must have been awfully exhausting to fight those blizzards… Please, do come closer…" She beckoned us forward, and I almost complied, but I growled, "She's using attract or something! Don't fall for it!"

Vincent and Vulcan both shook their dazed looks off, and Froslass narrowed her eyes, "You must be chilled down to the very bone… So let me freeze you solid! All the way down to the bone!"

I looked at Scizor frozen behind her, eyes wide with fear, and I shook my head, "No, thanks. I don't want to be a Mud-sickle."

She tilted her head slightly towards me, "You… Few pokemon can resist my powers of persuasion… Let me see what makes you so special!"

She flew forward as the snow rose around us, but I raised the earth with Ancient Power, stopping her. Or so I thought. She phased through the stones, and placed a hand on my cheek, speaking ever so gently, "Come… Join me..." The side of my face froze over, and I reeled away using all of my willpower, "Stop! I'm not joining you!"

She flew backwards as I used hydro pump, and Vincent charged forward, but Froslass opened her mouth, a freezing wind stopping him in his tracks. He was frozen, but he transformed into a Typhlosion, which gave him some wriggle room in the mold of the massive pokemon, and melted the ice. Froslass looked at him with an intrigued expression, "Hm? A Ditto…? I thought my eyes had fooled me the first time you transformed."

He used flamethrower, but she phased through it and floated closer, "You must be truly exhausted! Why fight, when you can be immortalized in the Ice?"

Vincent's flames died down as he mumbled something, and I shouted, "Vincent, she's using attract!"

Froslass opened her mouth, and froze him over, a determined look on his face. This time he didn't transform.

"Vincent!"

She placed a hand on her work, "Ah… He is a good one. It's so hard to capture good expressions… Most are too scared to understand my intentions..."

Vulcan jumped forward, hands blazing, "You witch! I'll see you melt!"

She smiled coolly, "Try, little Charmander. I'll see your flame of life snuffed out!"

He bellowed a flamethrower, but she used Ice Beam, the two attacks at a standstill in the middle. I used ancient power to slam a boulder into her, and Vulcan used belly drum, then inferno after eating an oran berry. Froslass phased into the wall before the attack could connect, then appeared behind him. I used ancient power before she could touch his face, but she dodged.

That second allowed Vulcan to turn and use flamethrower again. Froslass opened her mouth, this time a different kind of Ice attack coming out, and it snuffed out Vulcan's flames. He jumped back as the ground where he was before turned to solid Ice, and used flame burst. The little orb of fire floated closer to her, and she stared at it with a perplexed expression, her pupils dilating to it, "What is this…?"

"Flame burst!"

The little orb of fire exploded, sending Froslass flying into the wall, but she shook her head and whispered, "Please don't hurt me… My intentions are pure."

I shook my head, trying not to fall for her attract move, "Not buying it, lady."

I readied double team and dashed around her while Vulcan flanked her from behind, but she looked directly at _me_ , "You think that little illusion can save you?"

She raised her arms, and a purple wind went outwards in every direction. It hit me and Vulcan, cancelling my double team, but Vulcan bellowed another inferno attack, and when she dodged, I smacked her with a part of the wall. She hit the ground and Vulcan used flame charge before she could float away and stood on top of her with one foot, his mouth wreathed in fire, "Like I said… I'll watch you melt."

Her face showed fear, but she opened her mouth, and Vulcan didn't even let her use frost breath. He blasted a flamethrower directly into her face. She screeched and poofed into a flurry of snow, whisked away on the wind.

I heard a cracking noise filling the air, and I looked to Vincent, whose ice prison was cracking. The ice shattered, and Vincent sighed with relief, "Well… That was fun…" His skin erupted into flames, distorting the very air and warming him up, "Ahh… Much better."

We heard groaning to our left, and Vulcan gasped, "Scizor... I think he's waking up!"

Scizor shook his head, "Ur… Urf… Wh-where…?" He looked around at the landscape, which was three-quarters melted due to all of our fiery battles. "Ah… Yes, I recall now. I had been exploring when I was set upon by that beastly Froslass…" He turned to us, "Oh! You're rescuing me, I presume? Forgive my lapse in etiquette. My name is Scizor. I am an explorer."

* * *

 **1- in ep. 93 of the diamond and pearl series, Fantina's mismagius draws pikachu's thunderbolt away with a Magical Leaf attack. I'm incorporating that same style of thing into Magnus challenge letter thing.**

 **Boom! Froslass battle! As always, hope you guys enjoyed! If you did, then go ahead and leave a quick review! If you have any questions about whatever, go ahead and PM me or leave it in your review! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	12. Journey to the Center of the Sea

**-Chapter 12: Journey to the Center of the Sea-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

Scizor took a breath as if to continue, but I interrupted, "Sorry, but could we take this somewhere a little bit warmer? I'm freezing."

Scizor nodded, "Ah, yes. Of course." He pulled an escape orb out of his treasure bag, "Everyone, gather around, if you please." We formed a circle, Vincent turning into a Blaziken, and Scizor threw down the escape orb in the center. After a flash of light, we were transported to the crossroads at Treasure Town. Vincent gave a brief nod and went off to Spinda's café.

Scizor bowed slightly, "I am sincerely grateful for your coming to my rescue. If you hadn't come along, I very well could have remained encased in ice forever." He looked around at the well, then at Treasure Town, "However… little did I expect that decades have passed since my icebound predicament. Why it is as if I'd travelled to an entirely different world." Focusing back on us, he said, "Incidentally, I would like to somehow repay you for saving my life."

He seemed to ponder on something, then sighed, "However, I find myself alone in an alien world, and without a single poké to my name. I have but no idea how I could possibly repay you."

Vulcan smiled, "That's alright. Your thanks is enough!"

Scizor crossed his arms, "Hmm… However…" He gasped, "Ah! Yes! That may do! Tell me, you did say you were an exploration team, yes?"

I nodded, "Yes. Team Firestorm."

"Ah! Very well! You see, though you may find it very unlikely, I was once upon a time an explorer of some repute. Well, I'll have you know… I am an honorary member of the Pokemon Exploration Team Federation!"

I tilted my head, "And that is…?"

"An honorary member, such as myself, has the right to give special status to exemplary exploration teams. And you fit the bill! Your plucky courage during my rescue proves that you are more than exemplary! So I confer upon you… the Secret Rank!"

Vulcan voiced his confusion, "Secret Rank?"

"Yes! An exploration team with that rank is eligible to take special missions. Special missions are highly confidential jobs that come straight from the Exploration Team Federation itself."

I nodded, "That's… Neat."

"I'll need to make a note of your new rank on your Explorer Badge." He walked over to each of us and held his claw in front of our badges. I looked down and I saw that a small star was on the gem of our badges now.

Vulcan looked at his badge, "I don't get what the big deal is, but thanks!"

Scizor bowed again, "Ah, it's the least I can do. I shall never forget your valor and kindness in coming to my rescue! I must be on my way. Farewell!" He waved and walked off into the distance.

We went to Spinda's Café and went to the table. Jade had found a spot between Rose and Nocturne, and when I saw her, and knew what she could become… A Froslass… I was legitimately scared for those that were her enemies. Rose must have read my face, because when she saw me, her smile faded, "What's wrong, Connor?"

I put my smile back on, "I'll fill you in when everybody gets back."

Magnus had just ordered a sky gummi smoothie and sat back down at the table, and Mirage and Atlas walked down the stairs, Atlas speaking up, "Steelix is taken care of! Let's partay, people!"

"Awesome. You're just in time to hear our adventure to Blizzard Island."

Atlas looked at Jade, "You found another recruit?"

We nodded, "She's potentially going to be one of our most powerful members when she evolves."

Atlas crossed his arms, "Is that so?"

Vulcan nodded and began explaining the fight with Froslass, "Honestly, I don't know how we made it, but we did. Her attract move was enough to reduce us to almost nothing from the get-go."

Rose freaked out after mentioning Vincent got frozen solid, but he said it was alright, and she wrapped around him lightly, embracing him. Atlas made a gagging gesture, and we all laughed, minus Jade, who just observed us all silently.

Alice looked at Atlas kind of funny for a good amount of time, but I didn't have time to think about it as Jade spoke up, "So… I have that much potential?"

We both nodded, and Vincent said, "You'd be scary, girl. Given the right training once you evolve… Pfft, you'd be a serious force to be reckoned with."

We all glanced at her, and she nodded, "All of this talk of my potential has piqued my interest in my next form. You have a dawn stone in storage, correct?" I nodded, "Yeah…"

She began walking, "I will see you all in a few hours." She turned back to face us, "Nocturne, would you like to accompany me to the Luminous Spring?"

He nodded and stood up, now towering above all of us except Magnus, "Sure!"

He followed her out of the café, and Vincent shuddered, "I'd hate to be facing her when she masters her abilities. That Froslass was insane, even with me and Vulcan being fire types, and Connor's Ancient Power skills."

I nodded, "That will make our team that much more powerful."

Rose nodded, "Plus, and Ice type on our team… Not very many pokemon resist that, in combination with you, Connor? You two would be an excellent tag team."

I smiled, "Well, Vulcan and I are kinda like the tag team masters. I'll let that responsibility fall onto another member."

They all nodded, and Vulcan filled them in on the secret rank thing that we got. Atlas nodded, "That's why the star appeared…"

Mirage glanced around, "Wait, where's Nocturne?"

I tilted my head, "Did you miss the last thirty seconds or something? He went to guide Jade to Luminous Spring."

She shook her head, "Oh. Sorry, I guess I zoned out. I found a new lead on a special dungeon on the way here."

Atlas tilted his head, "Oh? I was with you the entire time, I thought?"

She shook her head, "No, this was while you were waiting to apprehend the Steelix."

He nodded, "Okay… What is it?"

"I bumped into Corphish, who said that Sunflora knew something about the 'surrounded sea'. I went to ask her, and she filled me in. And now I'm here."

Vulcan nodded, "That's really cool! But it's getting kind of late. You mind filling us in when the whole team's here in tomorrow's briefings?"

She nodded, "No problem!"

So, we started lounging around and joking while we waited for Nocturne and Jade to get back. It felt like forever, but suddenly, our shadows extended out from underneath us, and a Froslass and Cacturne rematerialized from the darkness. Nocturne turned around, "That was different…"

Jade smiled, "Indeed..." She examined her hands, "I appreciate you teaching me that magnificent ability."

She floated forward, but almost fell over, and in between breaths, began saying, "Nocturne has taught me... about a ghost-type's ability to travel vast distances... in little time... by moving through a shadow-like dimension."

We all smiled and welcomed her back, and Nocturne ordered two smoothies. One clear gummi, for Jade, and a grass gummi for him. They began sipping on their drinks, and Vincent kept looking at her with a hint of… nervousness.

She looked at him momentarily before blinking and smiling warmly, "You have no reason to fear of me, Vincent. I will not harm any of you. I am not like the Froslass at the heart of Blizzard Island."

He nodded, although he still looked nervous. She smiled as she finished off her smoothie, "This drink is good… I'll get another." She floated over to the bar and ordered another one. Rose sighed, "Vince, you can't be scared of her. She's a teammate."

He grunted, "You try being frozen solid by one. It's not fun."

Atlas pat his back, "Dude, trust is a must. Dugtrio taught the bosses that when they came back from the future. We have to have trust in each other, otherwise we're not a team."

He sighed, "I know… I'll have to work on it."

Jade floated back over and wordlessly drank a second smoothie. Alice sipped her shake as well, and the two of them looked at each other momentarily before Magnus grunted, "Well, I'm going to bed."

He lumbered up the stairs, and Atlas sighed, "I'll go make sure he doesn't pick a fight with a random villager."

He left, and Nocturne looked around, "Well, then… Jade, you haven't even seen the tent, have you?"

She tilted her head, "Tent?"

"Yeah! It's where we sleep at night, and where we typically relax while we're on standby."

She gestured to the stairs, "Please, show me."

"Gladly!"

I looked at them both walking out, and Rose nodded, "I think now's a good a time as any to call it a night."

We all agreed and the team headed back to the tent. We went to Sharpedo Bluff and went to sleep.

 **-Jade's POV-**

When I awoke the following morning, I looked at my surroundings, briefly forgetting where I was. I smiled as I saw the different faces. Nocturne, Rose, Caroline, Mirage... I'll admit, when a Smeargle walked in next to the leaders last night, I was thoroughly astonished. It hadn't occurred to me that a Smeargle could transform. I floated silently out of the tent while the others were still asleep on their bunks. I observed that sunrise was still an hour away as I sat in front of the tent and began experimenting with my snow abilities.

I hadn't gotten much practice, and my power had been drained from shadow travelling last night, so now that I had some free time, I proceeded to practice a little bit. I clasped my hands together and made a blue, glowing sphere. I tossed it into the air, and it burst into millions of snowflakes that coated the ground around me in the white fluffy substance. I got up and floated over to the Kecleon Merchant's shop after the snow stopped.

The green one spoke up first, "Ah! A new face! May I ask your name, Madam?"

"I'm Jade. A member of Team Firestorm."

"Ah! Vulcan and Connor's team! Well, I will tell you, Jade, there is no better team to be a part of! They have saved many a folk around Treasure Town, and stopped the planet from falling into ruin!"

"What an honor." I looked around, "So… The both of you run a single shop?"

He nodded, "Yes. I sell everyday use items such as seeds, gummies, things of that nature. My brother sells orbs and TMs for the use of exploration teams that make their way through Treasure Town."

I nodded, "That is exceptional to know for when I need those items. ...Excuse me, I must go back to my team."

As I floated off and entered our tent, Atlas the Machop had already awoken everybody. He saw me, and waved, "You're up early! Couldn't sleep?"

I shook my head, "I slept perfectly fine. I arise at dawn every morning."

I felt a breeze behind me, and Vulcan and Connor had come in, "Alright, team! Morning briefings in ten!"

They nodded and began moving towards the Spinda's Cafe. Nocturne placed a hand on my shoulder, "Let's go! You'll want to get a drink before we start. The briefings are usually pretty interesting."

I put on a smile, "I'll be sure to do that."

We all went to the cafe, and I ordered a smoothie for me while the others waited in a line. I floated back to the table, and after everybody gathered around, Vulcan cleared his throat, "Alright… Mirage, you want to fill us in on the Surrounded Sea that Sunflora was talking about?"

She nodded, "Yes. Sunflora said that the Surrounded sea is far to the southwest. It's gone unexplored mostly because it's been encased in ice for, quote, 'tens of thousands of years'. Then she said that a break in the ice had been discovered! Explorers can go to the dungeon now! She went on about the opportunity to explore a place that hasn't been seen in millennia, and how that's the kind of thing that explorers dream about! And then, to add to that, she said that all the world's currents go through the surrounded sea, meaning that there are probably rare treasures carried there by the flow of the water! She gave me the location on the map… Can I see it?"

Vulcan opened the map, and she hovered over it, then pointed to a spot, "Right… Here! Just east of Blizzard Island. She said we should take a look ourselves."

Vulcan smiled, "Alright! Thanks!"

I looked at the dungeon, and what kind of dungeon it is… I voted against myself going, leaving it for the other members to explore.

Connor began handing out missions, "Alright… First, the party for the Surrounded Sea… Nocturne and Rose, you two are definitely coming… And… Mirage. You found the lead to the dungeon, so it's only natural that you get to go."

She tilted her head, "What about Vulcan? Is he not going?"

Vulcan chuckled, "Pfft, no way. I am not going to an underwater dungeon if I can help it. Besides, I haven't trained in the Dojo in a while. It might be a good change of pace." He then looked at me, "Jade, you want to come with me once the missions are handed out?"

I nodded silently, and he smiled, "Good! Now, for the missions!"

Connor pulled out the missions and began, "Caroline, Alice, this is your first mission. We have a Carnivine outlaw and an item fetching quest in Amp Plains." Alice took the missions, and she looked over them with Caroline.

I observed them silently while Connor turned to Atlas, "Atlas, you and Vincent are going to Brine Cave. We have three outlaws there, and an escort to a golden chamber. You might want to pack lots of reviver seeds, because the client pokemon always manage to get themselves hurt, even when they're trying to help. Plus, the outlaws are at earlier floors, so extra precautions need to be taken to protect the client."

Atlas nodded, and the Smeargle made a small bag out of paint that he slung over his shoulder.

Connor looked to Magnus, "You have an outlaw and item fetching mission in Midnight Forest. It's a Roserade. You should have a slight advantage, plus your flying type moves should make the dungeon easier."

The brute smirked, "I get to beat the s*** out of him?"

Vulcan nodded, "As long as you get the item and don't kill _her_."

The Tropius nodded, and after that, Vulcan clapped his hands, "Alright team, let's make today a success!"

Everybody filed out, and I shook my head as memories began flooding in...

 **Mom...? Mom! NO! Please!**

"Hey, you alright, Jade?"

I quickly diverted my gaze to meet his eyes, "Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You just looked like you were upset. If you've got something you want to say, we're a team. We won't judge you for it. Well, Magnus might, but he judges everybody."

"...Perhaps." I looked to the exit, "Let us begin training, shall we?"

 **-Connor's POV-**

Since we didn't have Vincent with us, we had to take the ocean paths that Mr. Mime told us about. None of us really minded it that much, so we dove into the water, and I swam alongside Rose, who had Mirage holding on to her body. Nocturne just sunk like a stone next to us, sucking in water to increase his weight while bloating up in the process. He seemed to be breathing just fine, which made me raise an eyebrow. When we reached a small cave, we swam into it, coming to an air pocket that lead to forking paths that were ankle deep in water. Mirage coughed once, "Am I the only one that can't swim?"

Nocturne began leaking water out of the spikes on his body until he was his normal size again, making a squeaking noise as the water spurted out, "I can't either. I sink like a stone."

I looked at he paths, and Rose slithered through, "So… Which ones lead where?"

I saw that the path forked at least six times, and I put my head in the water to feel for the currents with my head fin. I rose up for a moment, "You said that Sunflora said that all the ocean's currents lead through the Surrounded Sea?"

Mirage nodded, and I felt for the strongest current, "I think it's the one on the far right."

The team nodded, and Mirage dried out her wings before flying next to us, making sure to stay out of the water.

* * *

 **Done! Chapter 12! Whoop! Hope you guys enjoyed! As always, feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you did, or even if you have any questions regarding whatever! It helps to keep me motivated and continue to write my stories. I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	13. Under the Surrounded Sea

**-Chapter 13: Under the Surrounded Sea-**

 **-Alice's POV-**

"Come on, Caroline! We can't mess this one up! It's our first mission!"

We both sped through Amp Plains, and Caroline was huffing alongside me, "Easy for you… I'm not made for speed…"

We fought off the numerous electric types while looking for the stairs, and after a few floors, we came to the Carnivine. I rushed him first, but he used vine whip in an attempt to knock me away. I used baton pass to swap our positions, then used dizzy punch as he flew towards me, completely caught off guard. Caroline used magical leaf to slash at him, but then he began to run. I used baton pass again to put him back in the center of the room while positioning myself in the corridor, and he looked at us nervously, "I-I… I give up!"

I was tempted to let him surrender, but Vincent had warned me that lots of outlaws would surrender, then they'd try to blindside you. Caroline used sweet scent, and he began drifting slowly towards her with a blank stare, his mouth drooling. She looked at me, "Alice! Take him out, now!"

I dashed forward and decked him with a jump kick. I landed on his head and used stomp, then tapped him with my badge after he was down. "Perfect! Now all that's left is to find the item!" Caroline pulled out the mission letter, "Says here it's on the next floor! Let's go!"

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

We had decided to do the water/rock maze, since I wanted a challenge, and Jade wasn't very picky about which maze we did. When we went in, the water was ankle deep. I sighed, "Could've just gone with Connor."

Jade floated above the water and began experimenting with her abilities. She could phase into walls and melt into shadows like Dusknoir, but the latter of the two drained her of her strength really quickly, since she wasn't all ghost to begin with. While going through the dungeon, she learned astonish and Draining kiss, both fairly good moves if used right. We found another Ice Beam TM, which she happily accepted.

She tapped it to her forehead and tossed it in the deeper water after it turned dark grey. When she used that move, it was considerably stronger than Connor's. Her Ice Beam froze some of the pokemon solid. I would thaw them out afterwards, but she kept floating around, dodging attacks and using draining kiss when she ran low on energy. I just stayed back and let her do her thing.

She was smiling, but she did most of her battling wordlessly, and all of her strikes were deliberate. She was very patient about attacking, so she rarely missed, and when she did, her follow-up move wouldn't. Any TMs we found, we put in storage if we couldn't use them, or didn't really want to learn them. We got a clear gummi, and she ate that while we moved on to the next floor. When we made it back to the lobby, she smiled, "I think I will go train on my own initiative later this evening, if that is alright."

I smiled, "Sure. Way to take charge!"

She nodded and we both went to check for new missions, and go to the swap shop to check for any useful items. None were up for trade, but we did get a few interesting missions.

 **-Connor's POV-**

When we finally reached the ice wall blocking the way to the Surrounded Sea, Nocturne gave it a full-force needle arm. Not even a scratch on it, and he clenched his hand, "Yeah… Solid…"

We kept moving around until we found a crack in the permafrost that lead into a small pool of water. I looked into it, "Um… What exactly did Sunflora say about a pool of water?"

"She said as soon as we dove down, there's a huge air pocket, or something. We don't need to be able to breathe underwater in order to explore."

"Well, that's good. Let's go!"

Mirage clung to Nocturne this time, who smiled, "Deploying… 3… 2… Bloop!" He stepped in and sunk like a rock. Rose and I dove in after them, and before long, I saw a rainbow light, forcing me to close my eyes. I felt myself being rotated, like gravity was being flipped around and up and down. When my head broke above the water, I breathed in the air, and saw blue walls around us. Mirage gasped after coughing up some water, "Whoa…"

I followed her gaze, and I said the same thing. Above us, a massive dome of water was swirling, shimmering around us, with ocean pokemon swimming around, the water being held back by the mystery dungeon to allow room for air. It cast a wicked cool shimmering water effect over everything. Rose dove through the water and swam around like a Dewgong, laughing like she was right at home.

I leapt in while Mirage floated overhead. Nocturne had to stick to the paths, and he actually held on to Mirage's legs when we had to cross small gaps of deep water to get to the stairs. I was surprised that Mirage was that strong of a flyer.

Mirage had a bit of trouble flying over deep water, mainly because she was like a target to Remoraid and Octillery that were under the water, but Rose used aqua tail on them after she wrapped around them and used dragon breath. Nocturne took care of any pokemon that appeared on the surface by throwing seed bombs. About halfway down, a Seadra used hydro pump on Noc, and I thought that he had been blown off of the path, but he simply absorbed the water and smiled creepily, taking a deep breath, "Refreshing…"

His arm spikes extended, and he shot them off of his arm at blinding speeds and with pinpoint accuracy, sending the Seadra reeling back into the water.

I tilted my head, "Your ability is water absorb?"

He nodded, "And Sand Veil. Two abilities needed to survive in the desert."

"Cool."

As we kept going, Mirage needed to use one reviver seed after a Remoraid used hydro pump to knock her into the water. Rose had to lift her up and out of the water. Vibrava can't swim at all. We quickly found that out after her small arms couldn't paddle fast enough. And her wings couldn't get wet, otherwise she'd be stuck on the ground until they dried out.

Rose smiled, "Check out what I learned as a Dragonair." The horn on her forehead glowed, and the sunlight filtering through the water above grew more intense. The water levels dropped a few inches, and Mirage's wings dried out in about thirty seconds.

Her horn glowed again, and the bright sunlight stopped. She looked at me, "I know your water-type moves don't really work in harsh sunlight."

So, we kept going. Ends up that Nocturne actually had it the easiest, since he could literally stand still and absorb water from the floor to restore his lost energy. Rose and I didn't have too much trouble since we both resisted water type moves. Rose and Mirage and Noc had a couple close calls with the Lapras and Ice Beam users, but we made it to the end without a ton of trouble. We saw three treasure boxes and a warp tile in the final room. Nocturne grabbed two of the boxes and put them in my wonder bag, and Mirage carried another one in her arms.

Rose was snaking through the water, stirring up stuff on the bottom, since the whole room was shallow. I saw a strange circular shadow, and walked over to it, and I saw a strange-looking gem in the water. I asked Nocturne to pick it up, and he looked at it, "What do you think it is?"

I shrugged, "Um… Beats me. Looks like a gem, maybe?"

He smiled, "Let's keep it! Maybe it's valuable!"

I opened up my wonder bag and he slid it into the main compartment. We all stepped onto the warp tile and were transported back.

 **-Vincent's POV-**

"Sir, please, we will handle this!" We were facing against a Slowbro outlaw, and our client, an Exeggcute, insisted that he fight. Atlas punched a Dewgong away while I had to hold our Client back. He began glowing, and the Slowbro slowed down a little bit, but the confusion didn't do hardly anything but annoy the outlaw. I shot a stun spore seed bomb at him, but apparently he had safeguard up, making him immune to status-inducing moves. Atlas turned to me while grappling an Omanyte, "Come on, Vince! Take him down already!"

The Slowbro shot a hydro pump at our client. Thinking fast, I used agility, which I learned from Rose. I snatched up our client in a paint net and moved him out of harm's' way while Atlas knocked back the Omanyte. I turned and used protect as the outlaw used Hydro Pump again. Atlas sighed, "I got it..." He leapt towards the outlaw after using focus energy and used cross chop. The Slowbro went down in one hit, and Atlas snorted, "Come on, Vince. Normally you kick outlaw butt!"

"I'm sorry, but I have to look out for our client! And my transforming ability was negated from it's disable!"

Atlas sighed, "Well, let's keep going. We still have one more to go before we get to the golden chamber." He turned to our client, "Sir, do you still have the key?"

He nodded and we saw the key float out of one of the egg heads. (Literally)

I couldn't help but chuckle, and Atlas nodded, "Good. Let's find that golden chamber."

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

After Jade and I got back to the Café, we ordered a couple drinks. Jade was sipping on an apple juice when a Butterfree fluttered up to us, "Are you team Firestorm?"

Jade tilted her head slightly at the pokemon, and I replied, "Who wants to know?"

"A strange pokemon asked me to give this to you." She slid the note onto the table, and I looked at the Triangle seal.

"P.E.T…?" Jade asked as she picked up the note, which had those letters on a seal that held the envelope closed.

I studied it, and the Butterfree said, "Just so we're clear, I definitely delivered the letter."

Her sudden skittishness made me raise an eyebrow, and Jade asked, "A challenge letter? I'm aware that Magnus usually takes those, but the seal… It is unusual."

I nodded, staring at the symbol. "It's not a challenger letter. The seal is too… Official. P.E.T… Pokemon Exploration Team? We should probably wait until the team is back to open this one."

Magnus lumbered in soon after that, a Roserade on his back. I smirked, "You walk in with an outlaw the same way every time..."

He scoffed, "So? Why's it matter?" He glanced at Jade, "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing of great concern."

"Cool. You want to fight?"

She turned to him, "Excuse me?"

"You want to fight? I'm ready to face against an Ice type. About time I got a good challenge."

She smiled, coolly "I won't allow myself to be baited into a fight with my own team member."

"Afraid you'll lose?"

"I know that _you_ don't stand a chance, as much as you would loathe to admit. Your greatest weakness is Ice. You know this, even as thick-headed as you are."

"The f***'s that supposed to mean?!" His wings began glowing, and he leaned forward.

She sighed, "You won't fight me."

As she said this, I felt a wave of calm and peace wash over me. Magnus lowered his attack, "...Fine. I'll go find Noc."

He left, leaving the Roserade on the ground, unconscious, and I raised an eyebrow, "You learned attract?"

She nodded, "Captivate. I can be very... persuasive. After listening to how compelling that Froslass on my home island was, I decided to mimic her strategies, or, what I have heard of them, to a degree."

I nodded, and decided that while we were waiting for the others, Magnus and I would head up to the guild to collect the reward for his mission.

I found him flying above the guild, and I called him down. He glared at me, "Of course Noc is f***in' gone..."

"We're going to go get your reward while we're waiting for them."

"Whatever."

When we got up to the mission floor, Magnus held up his letter in front of the mission board, "My client should be here by now."

I tilted my head, "What's the client's species? It says it on every letter."

He growled, "How am I supposed to know? It says mus… Mys…"

"Misdreavus."

"Did I ask you to f***in' tell me?!"

"I didn't say anything..."

I felt a breeze behind me, heard a heavy breathing in my ear, and I turned around slowly…

"BLAAAAAH!"

"AAAH!" I leapt back, and the Misdreavus laughed, "Bah-ha-ha! You should've seen your face! Priceless! Hahaha!"

He snatched the purple gummi up by flying through Magnus, and he grunted, "Hey! Watch it!"

The Misdreavus smirked, "I will, rest assured. Thank you for retrieving my favorite snack!" He turned to us, "You're one of the leaders, right? Heehee! I want to offer my services to your team! May I have the honor?"

He kept on a smirk the whole time, and I stared at him, "Uh… I dunno… We've already got a ghost ty-"

"Oh, the Froslass? She doesn't' count. She evolved into a ghost, and even then, not a very good one! C'mon, you know you want my assistance… Don't let this opportunity slip past because of some harmless spooks!"

I tilted my head and turned to Magnus, "Sure… but that means you have to-" The Misdreavus was gone by the time I looked back.

"Have to what?"

I yelped as the Misdreavus popped out of the wall behind us, and even Magnus backed away as I said, "It means you have to stop doing that!"

The ghost laughed again, "Heehee! As soon as it stops being fun. Fear is my life source! So, what's my nickname? I want something that is simple, yet will be remembered for centuries!"

 _A bit over the top, isn't he?_

"Fine. Your name's... Roy."

"Roy? Hmm. I guess it will grow on me. I could've picked a better name, but beside the point, I'm off to introduce myself to the rest of my team! Feel free to come to Spinda's Cafe whenever you'd please!"

We followed him back, and he introduced himself to Jade by sneaking up on her and shouting. Not the best way to introduce yourself to her, since she froze half of the cafe after a startled shout, but Roy chuckled, "Oh, this will be so much fun! Heehee!"

I melted the ice away, and Jade looked at me loathingly, "Who is this?"

"This is Roy. He's our newest recruit."

She frowned, "Lovely…"

Roy hovered upside down, "Calm down, sweetheart! It's just a bit of fun!"

She opened her mouth and was about to reply, but he giggled and cut her off, "Oh my, your emotional mask is so easy to crack! Just apply a joke or a scare here and there, and it shatters, just like the ice that makes your physical mask!"

Jade huffed annoyedly and said, "With all due respect, is he absolutely necessary, Vulcan?"

Roy floated upside down in front of her, "My, oh my… You're just full of rainbows and sunshine, aren't you?"

If looks could kill, Jade's death stare would've cost us three reviver seeds.

Roy sunk into the floor after smiling some more and laughing to himself.

After that, Connor walked in, followed by Rose, Nocturne and Mirage. Jade floated over to Nocturne, "How was the exploration?"

He smiled, "Oh, it was so much fun! Of course, I can't swim at all, but my water absorb lets me pretty much breathe underwater. It was like an action adventure or something. Mirage carried me over the deeper water, since I couldn't exactly float."

Connor came up to me while they were talking, "How'd Jade's training go?"

"Pretty good. She can freeze most enemies with Ice Beam. And she learned captivate or something. Just a little while before you came in, she convinced Magnus to back off from fighting her."

He chuckled, "Wow. Making him back down from a fight… That's impressive."

Roy floated up behind him slowly and was about to shout, and Connor didn't even turn around when he said, "You'd better not scare me, if you know what's good for you."

Roy grunted, "Aww, you're no fun! How did you sense me?"

"I can feel even the slightest movement with my head fin." Connor deadpanned.

"Pity. I'll have to stick to scaring miss sunshine for a while."

Connor turned around, "So, what's your name?"

"Who, me? I'm Roy. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

I tilted my head, and Roy gasped, "Oh! May I train? I've been watching your recruits, and I don't want to be their defenseless punching bag! It wouldn't be fun if I had no way to defend myself!"

I nodded, "Go ahead."

Roy grinned and floated up through the ceiling. I turned to Connor, "Say, how'd the Surrounded Sea go, anyways?"

That got him rolling. His eyes glowed as he described the adventure, how many water types there were, and the beautiful scenery. "Oh my gosh, Vulcan, it was so beautiful! You should've been there! The water suspended above us, like a giant dome! Watching the ocean pokemon swimming above us in the water, seeing it shimmer and move through the air… It was so pretty, I can't even begin to describe it! I ought to get Vince to paint it some time!"

I smiled, "That's good. Wish I could've gone, but water types? Meh. Kind of a turn-off in that regard. Did you find any cool treasures?"

"Oh, and Noc and I found this… It's some kind of weird gem…"

He rolled it out of his treasure bag. It was a small-ish, round blue and orange object. I stood up and looked at it, picking it up and examining it, "Weird is right, man…"

Caroline and Alice came in, and after they told me how the mission went, I used will-o-wisp to put a backlight to the egg, and I saw a darker part in the center. I raised an eyebrow and tapped on it once. The shadow in the center moved slightly, and I gasped. _Gems don't move…_ I looked at the shape of the gem, and my eyes shot open, _No way…_

"Connor…" I said quietly.

He leaned in, "What?"

I made sure to keep it at a whisper, "This isn't a gem… It's an egg!"

The other Team Members didn't hear since they were all chatting amongst themselves over by the bar, but Connor gasped, "What?!"

I turned to the rest of the team and put on a smile, "Alright, Team! Go get your rewards for the missions and call it a day. Connor and I are calling it in early tonight!"  
The team nodded, and they all left. When we booked it back to Sharpedo Bluff, I did a face palm after putting the egg on my bed, "Why the heck did you bring an egg back from the surrounded sea?!"

"How was I supposed to know it was an egg?! I thought it was a gem! Even Noc thought it was a gem!"

"We need to take it back tomorrow. It's too late to do anything tonight."

Connor tilted his head, "An egg all by itself out there, though? Isn't that dangerous?"

"You don't know if it was alone! For all we know, its parents could be worried sick!"

"What if they aren't? Maybe I just saved this little pokemon. Maybe it was abandoned."

I shook my head, "It's not about that, man. You can't just take eggs from their natural place. Lots of pokemon are left to hatch in the wild."

Connor sighed, "Alright, we'll take it back first thing in the morning."

I nodded, "Right." I laid on my bed, and curled around the egg, radiating a slight heat from my skin to keep it warm through the night.

* * *

 **What up people! I'm back! Sorry for the non-updating! School's been pretty wild, y'know, with all the end of school stuff, all that. Anywho, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! As always, feel free to review and ask questions about stuff that you want to know about! Stay awesome, and I will see you all in the next update! Much love!**

 **-PL**


	14. One Big Family

**-Chapter 14: One Big Family-**

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

Zzzzzz….

*bump*

 _Hm…? What…?_

*bump bump*

"Ugh… Not now, Connor…"

"Huh…? Vulcan, I'm still in bed…"

I cracked open an eye just to be blinded by a flash of light right in front of me. After I blinked the spots out, I opened both of my eyes and a big pair of yellow and blue eyes stared back at me. After looking around, the pokemon turned back to me, "Hi...iii~"

I jumped out of the bed, "WHOA!"

The little pokemon started toddling around the room, and Connor opened his eyes, then sat up, "What the-?"

The little pokemon giggled, and Connor chuckled, "Ha! He's cute!" He looked at it, "What kind of pokemon are you?"

The little blue pokemon tilted its head, "Poke?"

"I think it's too young to understand what you say."

Tilting its head again, the little pokemon looked at me, "You say?"

Connor looked at it, still in shock, "Um… What should we do? Do you know anything about this pokemon?"

I shook my head, "I don't… But Chatot probably would. He's like the know-it-all of the guild."

Connor nodded, "Let's go ask, then!"

He stood up, and the little pokemon toddled over to me and hid behind my back, holding on to the base of my tail. I couldn't reach it myself, and Connor looked sort of hurt, "Did I scare him?"

I shook my head, "I don't know…" I looked at it, and it stared back at me, and it clicked in my head. _Aw, crap…_

Manaphy let go of my tail after my flame flared up, and it held my hand, which was a comforting gesture, I guess, "I don't think you scared it. I just think that it's only comfortable around me."

He tilted his head, "Why's that?"

"When pokemon are hatched in the wild, they grow up by themselves, or find somebody that they imprint on. Somebody to take care of them until they're old enough to go off by themselves… A… A parent, of sorts."

The blue pokemon climbed up my back and sat on my shoulders, and Connor looked at the both of us, "So… he thinks…"

"That's right. He thinks I'm his momma."

"..." Connor stared at the both of us, and I stared back. _Let it sink in…_

Sure enough, he smiled as he tried to suppress his laughter, "Hmf… Pff…"

I sighed as I started walking, the baby pokemon still on my shoulders, "Let it all out now. I need you to be serious when we talk to Chatot. And I'm going to get it a lot worse when I tell the recruits."

Connor laughed so hard that he was crying, all the way to the guild. By the time we got there, he had calmed down. We told Chatot what had happened, and he examined the baby, which was peeking out from behind my back.

"Hmm… Well, to be honest, this is the first time I've actually seen a pokemon of this sort. But from what you've told me, this pokemon appears to be a Manaphy. The youngster is an exceedingly rare pokemon. So much so that there are only a few in the whole world. It's said to hatch at the bottom of a cold sea, then travels over thousands of miles."

I was intrigued, "So, this little guy's a rare pokemon, huh?"

Manaphy smiled and sang, "Rare~ Rare~!"

Chatot nodded, "I should emphasize that a Manaphy is very rarely sighted. As a result, very little is actually known about the pokemon."

I nodded, "Okay…"

"So what are you two planning to do with this youngster?"

"Well, we were going to take him back to the Surrounded Sea while he was still an egg, but he hatched. And now we-"

"Weh… Weh… Waaaaaah!" Manaphy started bawling. I looked at it after kneeling down, "What's wrong? Are you hungry?"

"I would imagine so." Chatot said.

"What do we feed him?"

Chatot tilted his head, "I'm not sure… But since it is a water-type pokemon… How about blue gummies?"

I nodded, "Sure! Connor's got a heap of them in storage!"

Connor nodded, "Let's go!"

We grabbed two blue gummies from storage, and Connor looked at me, "Why two?"

"So that way when he gets hungry again, we'll have one with us."

When we made it back to the guild, Manaphy was still crying, and I knelt down to it, "Here, little guy…" I held out the gummi, and Manaphy stopped crying.

"You'll like this… It's a blue gummi…"

"...Goomi?" He took it in his hands and nibbled on the end. He perked up and scarfed the rest of it down, then started skipping around, "Goomi! Goomi!"

He jumped forward and hugged my stomach. "Goomi~ Goomi~" I stiffened up, but hugged him back.

Connor said, "Vulcan, could we just look after him for a little bit? Until he is big enough to go out on his own?"

I thought about it for a bit. _Even if we take him back, he'll just follow us home… And I guess there's no harm in it._

"Alright. We'll do it."

Manaphy mimicked, "Doodit~!"

Chatot shook his head slightly, "I'm not sure this is a good idea…"

We both looked at him, and he continued, "This pokemon is one that would normally grow up in the sea. This environment is obviously different in a number of ways… Add to that, we know next to nothing about Manaphy… Who knows what could happen?"

Connor looked down, "But… It's not safe to just leave him to fend on his own. The dungeon we got the egg from was crazy dangerous! We'll just look after him for a little bit, until he is big enough to fend for himself, okay?"

Chatot didn't look convinced, "Hmm…"

I added, "We'll take good care of him, I promise!"

"...Fine. If you insist."

I nodded, "You can count on us! No worries!"

After walking Manaphy back to the bluff, I set up another small bed of hay, "Alright, Manaphy… For now, this is your home…"

He looked at me, "Home?"

"That's right. Home. We'll look after you, little guy…"

Manaphy grinned, "Home~! Home~!"

Connor looked at me, "Um… So… What are we supposed to do now?"

"Goomi! Goomi!"

We both looked at Manaphy, who was searching through my wonder bag that I left in the corner. He pulled out the second Blue Gummi that we grabbed from storage and ate it. I smiled, "I guess it's already found out where we keep our stash."

Connor smiled, "Manaphy…?"

The little pokemon walked closer, "...?"

"Is it tasty? Er… Goomi tasty?"

Manaphy looked confused, "Tasty?"

"Yeah… Tasty?"

Manaphy giggled, "Tasty! Goomi tasty!"

I smiled as I sat down, "The little guy's going to grow up in no time at this rate!"

Manaphy's eyes became squinty and his energy died down. I raised an eyebrow, "Something wrong, Manaphy?"

He curled up on the hay bed I made, and closed his eyes after letting out a yawn. I chuckled, "I guess the little guy's tired. Let's let him nap for now. Connor, can you go tell the recruits that missions are off today, and I'll explain later?"

He nodded and strode up the stairs.

After a little while, he came back, and I asked, "How'd it go?"

"Pretty good. Magnus was a bit ticked, but Alice calmed him down with some sweet talking. She's gotten pretty good at it, too."

I nodded, "Cool. When Manaphy wakes up we'll show the team."

We lounged around for a bit, and once Manaphy woke up, he toddled over to me. I stood up and lifted him onto my back. We walked to Spinda's Cafe, and when we got to the entrance, I took a deep breath, bracing myself for impact.

I stepped down, and our team was chatting with each other at the table. When I walked down, Mirage fluttered over to me, "Vulcan! Why are missions off for today?"

Manaphy poked his head over my shoulders, "Vulcan...?"

Mirage gasped, "Oh my gosh! Vulcan, where did you find a baby pokemon?"

Rose snaked over to me, "It's so cute!"

Manaphy looked at all of them, and Connor said, "Noc, you know that gem you and I found in the surrounded sea?"

He nodded, and Connor continued, "Well, it was actually an egg. It's where this little guy came from."

His eyes widened, and I said, "We'll be looking after him until he's old enough to go out on his own."

Connor added, "So we'll be leaving things to you guys for a little while. You can train if you want, and if you want to look for missions to do, ask Jade. She's in charge while we're busy." Nobody argued, and I thought of a couple more things. "Magnus, no swearing around the kid."

He humphed, "Fine."

Then he turned to Roy, "And if you so much as scare Manaphy, I'll-"

Roy smiled, "I get the point. But I wouldn't be so heartless as to scare a child. Please, do you think I'm that big of a scoundrel? He's much too young to take a joke."

I pulled out the envelope for the special mission, "We're going to open this envelope and see what all the fancy sealing and stuff is about."

I melted the wax off by heating up my finger and opened the envelope. I read it, and it said, "Find the Icy flute that lies at the peak of Mt. Avalanche… Jade, this is your kind of mission. Your ability should provide you lots of stealth, right?"

She nodded, "Yes, sir. I learned hail with a TM yesterday evening after training."

I nodded, "There's no need for all this 'sir' stuff. I want you to scout out the dungeon tomorrow and put together a good team to go get this Icy Flute, whatever it is."  
She nodded as she grabbed the letter, "Consider it done." She read the location and it marked itself on my map. Just afterwards, the letter burst into flames and disintegrated, startling everyone.

Jade looked at me, "That was not me."

"Must be a self-destructing letter. For confidentiality, or something."

Rose tilted her head, "But… Why do you two have to stay? Can't you leave Manaphy with one of us?"

I shook my head, "No can do… Manaphy won't like being left alone without me."

Atlas raised an eyebrow, "Why's that?"

"Because…" _Here it comes…_ "Manaphy thinks I'm his mom."

"..."

"..."

"...Pffft!" _Of course Roy broke the silence first._

The rest of the team, minus Jade, Connor, Mirage and Rose spent the next five minutes laughing at me.

After they all calmed down and I handed out all the missions, Connor and I headed back to Sharpedo Bluff to call it a night.

 **-Connor's POV-**

When we woke up the next morning, Vulcan woke up with a yawn, "Good morning, Connor!"

Manaphy opened one eye from the noise, and Vulcan smiled, "Good morning, Manaphy!"

"Hi! Morning! Connor! Vulcan!"

My eyes widened, "He already knows our names? That's awesome!"

Manaphy threw his arms into the air, "Awesome!"

I turned to Vulcan, "So… What do we do? Eating and sleeping all the time isn't healthy enough.

He smiled, "How about a walk at the beach?"

Manaphy floated up, "Walk~!"

We set out towards the beach, and as we walked through Treasure Town, we saw Jade and Alice talking. We kept walking, and when we reached the beach, Manaphy floated over to the water, and his jaw dropped, and he began laughing and looking at the waves.

"Manaphy, this is the sea."

"Sea?"

I nodded, "That's right… The sea. That's where you came from."

He jumped up, "Sea! Sea!" He floated in a circle around Vulcan, "Vulcan!"

He floated around me, "Connor!" Then he floated in front of both of us, "Sea! Sea!"

I chuckled, "I'm glad we brought him down to the beach. He looks really happy."

He floated back over to the waves and sang, "Sea~ Sea~!"

We spent the whole day playing in the sand, watching the waves, and in the evening, watched the sunset with the bubbles that the Krabby blew. After it began getting dark, we headed back to Sharpedo Bluff, ate dinner, and called it a night.

* * *

 **Manaphy... I was never really sure what gender it was, so I went with male, because I've got so many females on the team already. Anywho, school's out, so I'm doing once every other day uploads. Just a heads up. As always, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you did! Go ahead and ask me questions if you want, too! It helps keep me motivated and better my stories as I go along. Stay awesome guys, and I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	15. A Family Crisis!

**-Chapter 15: A Family Crisis!-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

"Good morning, Connor!"

I awoke to Vulcan's voice, and I heard him say, "Good morning, Mana… phy? AAAAH!"

I jolted up to see what was wrong, and Manaphy was gone. Vulcan looked behind the barrels in the far corner, "He's not here!"

"Wh-where…?!" I began looking around while Vulcan frantically began moving crates, "He can't have gotten far! Let's find him, quickly!"

We ran up the stairs, searched through the bluff, and all throughout Treasure Town. When we got to the crossroads, we ran into Chatot.

"Ah, Team Firestorm!" He smiled, "I was just on my way to see how Manaphy is doing! I trust he is doing well?"

I smiled skittishly, "Uhh… Heh…"

"Manaphy's missing!" Vulcan shouted.

"Wh-what?! Didn't I tell you two to take care of that baby? Didn't I?!" He flapped his wings, "Squawk! I'll look too! Manaphy's still a toddler! That baby couldn't have gotten too far. I'll look through the guild! You two search outside!" He flew back up the stairs.

I tilted my head, "But… We already searched through Treasure Town. And one of the recruits would have gotten us if Manaphy wandered into the cafe…"

Vulcan nodded, "Which means if he's not at the beach, then we need to fan out and search!" I followed him down the path to the beach, and he pointed, "There he is!"

I saw Manaphy standing near the ocean waves, and I moved forward, "Manaphy! What are you doing here? Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

Vulcan sighed, "Manaphy, if you wanted to come here again, you could have just asked us."

Manaphy stared forward wordlessly, and I tilted my head, "Manaphy…?"

Manaphy suddenly collapsed into the sand, and Vulcan grabbed him, "Manaphy!"

I felt his head, since Vulcan's skin was too warm to sense a fever, "Vulcan, he's burning up!" I held him on my back and we ran back to Sharpedo Bluff. When we set him down, I was at a loss for what to do… Manaphy was still breathing, but we both had no idea of what to do. Chatot came down the stairs, "Oh! You've found Manaphy!"

I turned to him, "Chatot! Manaphy is-!" He rushed forward and placed a wing on the infant's forehead, "Ma-Manaphy! My goodness! He's running a frightful fever!"

Vulcan sighed, "We know. We found him at the beach, but then he just collapsed like a sack of berries into the sand."

Chatot nodded with a troubled expression, "...His illness must be caused by being in the wrong environment." He turned to us, "Just as I suspected, Manaphy is a pokemon that needs to grow in the sea. Our environment is entirely unlike being in the sea. That's why this infant is ill…"

Vulcan's anger flared, "So it's our fault…"

Chatot shook his head, "The way things stand now, remorse and regret will do nothing. We need to focus on healing Manaphy's illness."

Vulcan didn't even hesitate, "How do we do it?"

"Here's something I've heard… According to many sea-dwelling pokemon, it seems there is a cure-all item known as Phione Dew. That may be what it takes to cure Manaphy's illness."

Vulcan nodded, "Where do we find it?"

"There are Pokemon called Phione that drift along the sea. They are said to produce Phione Dew. I believe that Phione live in an area to the west called Miracle Sea."

"Got it."

I assured Chatot, "We'll find that Phione Dew no matter what!" We both took off to Spinda's café. When we went down the stairs, Vulcan glanced at our team and said, "Rose. Noc. With us. We'll explain on the way. The rest of you, um… Jade's in charge."

Rose and Nocturne both sprinted after us as we booked it out. Nocturne wasn't exactly fast, but he was sprinting the whole time, just fast enough to keep up, and he asked in between breaths, "Vulcan… Where are… we going?"

Vulcan didn't look back, "Miracle Sea. It's an emergency."

"What's the emergency?"

I was sprinting alongside Rose, and Vulcan deadpanned without looking back, "Manaphy's sick."

I felt the mood shift, and we kept sprinting in silence. (Or for Rose, slithering.)

 **-Alice's POV-**

A pretty lengthy silence stretched amongst the entire team for a while before it was broken.

"Okay… The f*** was that all about?"

Jade turned to Magnus, "Obviously, they had something important that needed their immediate attention."

I tilted my head, "But what could it be?"

Atlas shrugged, "I don't have the foggiest idea…"

Magnus stared silently for a moment, then turned to Atlas, "...Why's the new girl in charge?"

Roy smiled, "Because, in addition to her socialite nature that absolutely _radiates_ bliss, she happens to be the most responsible, and reliable, next to Rose, Vulcan, Nocturne and Connor, who are all absent at the moment."

Magnus snorted, "Whatever. We got any good missions?"

Jade nodded, "I've done some recon on Mt. Avalanche. It is nearly the same as my home Island, minus the Glaceon and Snover. And there were Armaldo. It's a shame that Vulcan isn't here. He would be ideal for leading the mission there. Beside the point… Missions for today: Vincent, you and Mirage will be facing a tangrowth outlaw in Mystifying Forest."

They nodded, and Vincent replied, "Alright!"

She turned to me, "Alice, this will be your first solo mission, if I'm correct? She unfolded the paper, "It is an item retrieving mission in Waterfall Cave. An orange gummi on the fifth floor."

I took the letter, "You got it!" _I can't let the others outshine me!_

Jade looked to Caroline, "You and Atlas are escorting a Geodude to a golden chamber in Craggy Coast. I presume that you two can handle it?"

Atlas nodded, and Caroline beamed, "You can count on us!"

I silently stared at them as they began discussing the mission. _Lucky… Atlas seems like so much fun to work with._

She looked at the next letter, "Magnus, we have a challenge letter from a Blastoise. Are you-"

"Done." He snatched up the envelope and lumbered out of the cafe, and Jade continued, "...And I will be training for today."

I looked at the team, and I couldn't help but smile. I pointedly looked at Atlas, if only briefly, before we made eye contact and I looked away quickly.

I went back to the tent and grabbed my paint bag. (Vincent had made one for everyone) When I left the tent, Roy floated past with a dark purple cape on. It looked goofy, but he smiled, "Heehee! Have fun! Don't go getting yourselves killed!"

 _Sheesh._ W _hat a creep…_ I shouldered my paint bag and set out for my mission.

 **-Roy's POV-**

I had decided to take my own route today, seeing as both of the leaders were gone, and miss sunshine and I didn't get along. I don't think I'll ever know why. She just can't take a joke.

"Think… What to do, Roy… What to do…"

I heard some commotion in a nearby facility, and when I floated up to it, I stared, "Oho… This is marvelous…"

I floated into the Marowak Dojo, and I saw him brawling with a Grovyle. They were both about evenly matched, but as soon as Marowak saw me, he stopped, "Oh! Another visitor!" He deflected the Grovyle's leaf blade while looking at me, "We can continue this later, Basileus."

The Grovyle nodded and turned to me, "So, you're part of an exploration team?" He gestured to my badge.

I nodded, "Yes, I am a member of Team Firestorm."

A new voice asked, "Team Firestorm?"

I turned around, and a Delcatty walked in, accompanied by an Absol, "It's wonderful to hear that our friends have been thriving! Tell me, how are Vulcan and Connor?"

I tilted my head, "I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name, miss…?"

"Maris."

"Ah! Maris! Lovely name! ...And your observant friend?"

He grunted, "Quint."

"Duly noted."

Maris looked at my cape with a piqued interest, "Oh, a Misdrea-Cape! Where did you get that rare of an item?"

"I have had it for as long as I can remember. Maybe… A gift? I don't remember where I got it exactly… Well, it has been nice meeting you! I'll give Vulcan your hellos!"

I sunk into the ground, and I decided to eavesdrop by hiding in their shadows. A little trick I learned while following around Connor and Vulcan for a while before I decided to reveal myself.

I began listening as they headed back to their tent, where a Volcarona and Gallade were waiting. "Any news of Mordred or Team Virus?"

 _Oh?_

The Gallade shook his head, "None. It's as if they've gone into stealth mode. I honestly thought we were safe once they found out that the Relic Fragment had been used to save the world."

Maris shook her head, "No. Team Hope would have relayed the message if Mordred had disbanded the group. That stone was a big treasure they were after, but that's not enough to cancel all operations. I know that they are still after Vulcan. His parents gave their dying breath to protect him. His spirit is what allowed the fragment to choose him."

Quint spoke up, "I've sensed Koumori several times around Treasure Town. They are definitely aware of our presence here. We aren't safe until we take them down!"  
Maris shook her head, "No! You know that they are too strong for us, dear! Even Team Hope, us, and Team Firestorm combined probably wouldn't be enough! We just have to lie low and figure out a plan to get Mordred! We take him down, the entire operation crumbles."

 _An assassination…?_

I cut of my eavesdropping. My mind couldn't take all of that information in at once. I slipped away into the shadows, chuckling to myself, "I probably shouldn't… But you know what, I'll just ask Jade what she would suggest."

When I went to the cafe, she was sipping on a white smoothie. I floated up behind her after phasing through the wall, and tapped her shoulder, since I vouched to not scare her this time.

She turned and rolled her eyes, not saying anything. I floated in front of her, "Come on, sunshine! I just have a question! You don't need to act all serious around me!"

She snapped, "What?"

"Oh, nothing."

She stared at me with an unamused glare, and I grinned goofily, "Alright, you got me. I overheard some rumors going around about some group that's after Vulcan. Should I tell him what I heard, or should I let that card play itself out?"

She looked at me, completely serious, "What are you talking about?"

I raised my eyebrows whilst putting on a grin, "An opportunity."

 **-Connor's POV-**

We all waded through the water in silence, and I'll admit, it's pretty boring. I knew that Vulcan wouldn't be up for talking, mainly because he was further up ahead and not talking at all. Rose was trying to cheer him up, but he kept his scowl.

Noc gestured to Vulcan, "Why does he blame himself for this kind of stuff?"

I shrugged, "I don't know, man. It does get a little annoying, but I've learned to leave him be when he's like this."

He nodded, "Oh… Okay. Um…"

I chuckled, "It's alright to walk in silence."

He shrugged and waved his arms slightly, "I know, it's just after evolving-"

His statement was cut short when Vulcan stopped and looked at the water, "We're here."

He turned to us, "You guys ready?"

Rose glanced at me, then pointedly at Vulcan, and I nodded, "Let's go."

 **-Vincent's POV-**

"Whoa!"

I leapt to the side, narrowly avoiding a flying boulder. "Watch out, man! Boulders hurt, you know!" Mirage used screech on the outlaw, but his vines must've muffled most of the noise, since he just lashed out with vine whip without missing a beat.

I extended a paint sword and shield, since after that Slowbro incident, I figured that I relied on my transforming ability too much. The Tangrowth used vine whip, but I blocked it and advanced. I heard Mirage buzzing beside me, but I couldn't look away from the outlaw. I saw her fly forward and use dragonbreath on the outlaw, and I leapt forward while he was shuddering from the paralysis. He collapsed to the ground, groaning after I sliced off half of his vines, and Mirage landed next to me after using sonicboom, "Alright! Mission: Complete!"

I touched my badge to the outlaw, and we were transported back to the crossroads. Mirage looked at me, "You can just tap an outlaw with your badge?"

I nodded, and she groaned, "Oh my- That would have saved us so much trouble with that Steelix outlaw!"

I laughed, and we went to the Cafe to get a drink after officer Magnezone took the outlaw. He said that he'd drop by later to give us the reward.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

I'll admit, when we went through the Surrounded sea, it was pretty fun to see the sea shimmering above us, and the water everywhere was pretty, but after the awe wore off, it was annoying to have to wade through knee-deep water everywhere. Well, it was knee-deep for me. Connor was up to his neck, but he could just swim. Vulcan was trying hard not to give in to the water. He was very frustrated with it, and I was surprised that he even bothered to come to a sea dungeon, but I guess that since this wasn't exactly for fun, he had decided to do it anyways.

My water absorb helped against lots of enemies, shielding my team from attacks while healing myself. I had some trouble with a few ice beam users, but Rose zapped them with thunderbolt and used dragon breath to paralyze some tougher enemies while I used magical leaf. Along the way, I learned Spiky shield, sucker punch, and pin missile. The last one I didn't see much use for, since it was a relatively weak bug-type move, but whatever.

Rose learned Aqua tail and Dragon Rush, both of them really good moves. Connor and Vulcan learned everything already, but they'd told me that they couldn't evolve since there was a distortion in space or something like that.

Even though we were all pretty square, type-wise, minus Vulcan, we still managed to use up three reviver seeds by the time we got to the waypoint. Vulcan hastily scribbled down in the adventure log and sat down in the water. I asked why his tail didn't go out, and he said that it only goes out if he dies. It can burn even underwater, which I thought was neat. After a brief moment, he stood up and said, "Let's get moving. It can't be much longer to the bottom."  
I nodded, "Sounds good."

 **-Alice's POV-**

 _Alright… Let's see..._ "Whoop!"

I dodged a water gun attack and knocked out the psyduck with a jump kick. "Geez, you can't let a girl read her mission?"

I fluffed out my fur and continued reading, "So… Orange Gummi… Fifth floor. Got it!"

I folded up the note and went to find the stairs. I saw a white gummi, and I leapt up, "Yay! White gummi!"

I munched on it, and continued to the next floor. The enemies here were pretty weak, so when I reached the floor that the mission stated, I was barely spent on energy. I found the item, and I picked it up, "Yes!

My badge began glowing, and I was transported back.

* * *

 **Alright, guys! Another big fight is on the way! For those of you that haven't played the game... Sorry for the spoilers. But for those of you that have... You know. As always, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick review and ask questions and stuff! I will see you all in the next update! Much love!**

 **-PL**


	16. For the Good of the Child

**-Chapter 16: For the Good of the Child-**

 **-Vincent's POV-**

After Mirage and I went into the cafe, we lounged around for a bit before Alice came in.

She greeted both of us, and shortly afterwards, Magnus lumbered in, dragging a Blastoise behind him by using vine whips. His wings looked burnt, his face had a good sized cut on it, and his neck had two puncture wounds on it.

I tilted my head, "What happened to you? You get attacked by a monster house?"

"F*** off. This little prick had three more baddies with him. It was a good fight."

I raised an eyebrow, "You still won, though?"

"You're surprised?"

I shook my head, "No, it's just… I don't know. Where's Roy?"

As I said this, my shadow elongated, and the Misdreavus popped out with a shout, making me leap back and shout in surprise. His red pearl necklace pulsed with light as my shout turned into a faint red smoke that trailed into the pearls, and he took a deep breath, "...That was a mediocre scare… I'll have to work on my tactics."

I shook my head, "Do it somewhere else, for Arceus' sake!"

He chuckled, "Don't worry yourself. I have no plans to scare the life out of any of you. You're all too nice to me."

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

After we made our way down the second half of the dungeon, we found a reviver seed, bringing our count to one. I also figured out that when I expelled all the water in my body, I was buoyant enough to run on top of the water, like I had balloon feet or something. It took some practice to not fall over, but eventually I got the hang of it. When we got to the end, we saw a bunch of little blue pokemon that looked like Manaphy, except with one antenna and blue eyes instead of yellow. They were laughing, and appeared to be in a conversation.

Connor stepped forward, "Hey, um… Do you guys know where-"

A giant roar cut him off, and a Gyarados crashed through the wall of the dungeon, scattering the pokemon and coming between them and us. They all screamed and moved back, and Gyarados laughed, "GRRAH-HA-HA! I'VE FOUND YOU AT LAST! YOU'RE THE PHIONE, RIGHT? THE ONES THAT MAKE THE CURE ALL PHIONE DEW? WELL, REJOICE! BECAUSE FROM NOW ON, YOU WILL ANSWER TO ME! ALL PHIONE DEW BELONGS TO ME FROM NOW ON! GRRAH-HA-HA!"

Connor shouted, "Hey! You can't just barge in and demand something like that! Get lost!"

Gyarados turned around, barely noticing us, "OH? AND WHO MIGHT YOU BE?" I attempted to use mean look, but he was too intimidating to activate the move. I still glared at him alongside Connor and Vulcan, and he smirked, "OH? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'VE GOT A BONE TO PICK WITH ME…"

Connor levitated out of the water on a boulder, "We need some Phione Dew for a sick child. Get out of our way, before we make you."

The Gyarados stared at us blankly for a moment before tilting his head back and laughing, "GRRAH-HA-HA! YOU'RE ABOUT A MILLION YEARS TOO EARLY TO PICK A FIGHT WITH ME! YOU'LL REGRET NOT RUNNING AWAY WHILE YOU COULD!" He coiled up and rested in the water and let out a fearsome roar, "NO MERCY FOR MEDDLERS!" He let out another roar, and the Phione dove and ran away.

I stuck a stun seed to one of my spines, and activated pin missile. It shot forward at blinding speeds, and the stun seed stuck to Gyarados' neck, making him freeze in place. Connor called out, "Surround him!"

We all complied and took up positions around the Gyarados. Vulcan began glowing with a red and blue aura, using Dragon Dance multiple times, and Rose said, "Connor, I'll use Rain Dance and thunder! You use Ancient Power! Vulcan, use Dragon Rush or something!"

Connor nodded as his head fin began glowing purple. I felt the room quiver as massive boulders broke the surface of the water. Rose's horn glowed, and rain began falling from the sky.

Connor and Rose both looked at each other, then nodded. I felt the air charge around me as the rainclouds began glowing, and Connor launched the boulders straight towards Gyarados' head. In unison, at least a hundred lightning bolts struck from the cloud, and Gyarados literally sparked with electricity from the shock. The stun seed fell off, and he was sent flying as the boulders hit him square in the side of the head. Vulcan used dragon rush, and after using Dragon Dance a couple times, he was so fast he actually ran on top of the water. His entire body glowed white, and Gyarados only had time to gasp before Vulcan ran him through with the attack.

Vulcan dashed back around and I used seed bomb to distort him. He stayed still for a couple seconds, then smirked as he righted himself, "ALRIGHT… ENOUGH MESSING AROUND! GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT!"

I gasped and shook with fear, and I heard Connor murmur, "Um… That's not good..."

Gyarados looked at all of us, "NO? THEN HOW ABOUT I START?"

He leapt into the air and shot a hydro pump across the surface of the water, straight at Rose, sending water flying everywhere. I shouted, "NO!"

But when the sea spray cleared, Rose had vanished. Gyarados looked confused, and she shot out of the water right underneath him, "How about this, big guy?!" She glowed yellow, and Gyarados shuddered, unable to move. I knew an opening when I saw one, so I used magical leaf as I dashed forward, ready to use needle arm.

Rose used thunderbolt, which hit Gyarados head on, and I decked him with a needle arm to the face. His paralysis wore off, and his pupils dilated, and he began glowing with the same red and blue aura that Vulcan had. Before I could get away, he coated his tail in water and slammed it into me. My water absorb ability activated, and I grabbed his tail mid-swing, stopping him in his tracks after the water was absorbed. He bellowed, "WHAT?!"

I smirked, "Sorry, bub." I used mean look, and when he looked at me, even though it was for a split moment, he stayed perfectly still, immobilized. I shouted, "Rose, another thunder, please!"

The cloud glowed again, and Gyarados growled, "GRRROOOOOHH!"

He managed to break eye contact and tried to slither away, but after the rain dance, the storm of lightning bolts still hit him again. He fell into the water, and I dashed forward on top of the water as fast as I could. Connor used ice beam to freeze the water around his main body, and I used needle arm to hit his face again.

Vulcan leapt forward and used fire punch, but I think he realized that his fire moves were almost ineffective against this enemy, so he retreated.

Gyarados shattered the ice and used Dragon Dance again, and he fired another hydro pump directly at Connor. Connor used protect, and Gyarados used that distraction to charge at me. I activated spiky shield, and ducked behind the green aura. Gyarados slammed into the spikes, which stabbed his jaw and face, and he reared back and roared in pain as I deactivated the shield, and Rose zapped him with another Thunder attack. He looked at Rose, then swam forward. She yelped and dove under the water, but Gyarados dove after her. The rain dissipated, and after what felt like an eternity, nothing happened.

I looked down at the deep water, "Um…"

Vulcan looked around nervously, and we felt a ripple of power, and Gyarados came up with Rose in his jaws. He bit down harder, "TRY TO DEFEAT ME WITHOUT YOUR THUNDER USER!"

Rose writhed, "Big mistake!" She slipped out of his jaws, wrapped around his face three times like a rope, and used dragon breath on his eye at point blank range. He bellowed and shook Rose off, and she dove back into the water. He turned to Vulcan with his good eye, who was sprinting towards him, and he laughed, "GRRAH-HA-HA! YOU ARE TRYING TO CHARGE AT ME? GO ON, THEN!"

Vulcan continued, and began glowing red. Gyarados ignored the aura, and coated his tail in water. Vulcan didn't even stop, and began running even faster after his dragon dance boost. Gyarados swung his tail and Vulcan leapt into the air.

Gyarados slammed Vulcan, and he was sent skipping across the surface of the water like a stone before he collapsed, unmoving. Rose swam towards him, "Vulcan!" and Gyarados laughed, "HA!"

Then, Vulcan vanished. We were all confused until we saw a line of white light run straight through Gyarados' side. Vulcan landed on top of the water, and I raised an eyebrow, then I recalled that he could make substitutes. Gyarados was sent sprawling into the water, then a shock wave hit us all from the impact of Vulcan's attack, knocking us back, and Rose zapped him with another thunder attack.

Gyarados used aqua tail again, but Vulcan was already by Connor's side. Connor raised a boulder from beneath the water, and he flew towards Gyarados. Gyarados turned just in time to get a boulder to the face, and he went sprawling again. He sat up and after another thunderbolt he glared at us, "GAH! DON'T…! DON'T YOU EVER FORGET THIS!" He swam through the water and exited through the wall of the dungeon.

The Phione rose out of the water and looked at all of us after we gathered around, and the one in front said, "Oh! Very good! This is our thank-you!" He handed Vulcan a small box made of seabed that had a sparkling liquid in it. It must have been the Phione Dew. Vulcan accepted it and turned to us, "Let's get this to Manaphy!"

 **-Magnus' POV-**

As I drank my grass gummi smoothie, I briefly thought about the fight with that stupid Blastoise. He had three other baddies with him, and they were all _really_ f***in' sketchy. For a moment I forgot it was a challenge letter and not an outlaw mission.

 ***Flashback***

 **When I got to the location for the challenge letter, a cave in Mt. Bristle, the f***in' Blastoise asked the same question that every challenger asked. "Who are you? I was looking for team Firestorm!"**

" **I** _ **am**_ **a member of team Firestorm! For f***'s sake, all of you ask the same question!"**

 **He smirked, "They sent** _ **one**_ **recruit?'**

 **I nodded, "I'm more than enough to take care of you. Bring it, B****!"**

 **He looked at me, then behind me, and I tensed up. I leapt forward as a flamethrower hit the ground where I was a moment before. A Houndoom leapt from the cave roof, and slowly moved towards me, its mouth wreathed in flames. I heard another sound behind me, and a Bisharp stood up and extended the blades on his arms. I backed away from all three of them, and I was suddenly bit on the neck. I slapped a Crobat off of me with vine whips, but I felt the poison in my veins. I ate a pecha berry, and I looked at all four of them. "Bring it! I've faced tougher!"**

 **All four of them charged me at once, and I took to the air. The Houndoom leapt up, but I smacked it down with a body slam. I landed on it and crushed it, then used magical leaf on the Bisharp. He crossed his arms to block the attack, and the Crobat tried to bite me again. I used whirlwind to blow it into the wall, then used sunny day, lighting up the cave and boosting my strength.**

 **I felt the houndoom underneath me try to stand up, and I flew off of it and used bullet seed. It went down, and the Bisharp kicked off of the blastoise's shell and landed a metal claw attack on my cheek. I knocked him aside using whirlwind, and the Houndoom bellowed a flamethrower, even though I thought it was down. Boosted with Sunny Day, it still scorched my wings, even though I dodged.**

 **The Blastoise stood still, and the Bisharp charged me again. I slammed into the ground and used bulldoze, knocking him off of his feet and finishing off the Houndoom. I turned, and the Blastoise blasted me with Hydro pump. I was slammed into the wall, and I looked at him, "F***in' water types… Take THIS!"**

 **I used solar beam, which fired in less than a second, and the Blastoise went down. The Crobat flew at me, but I used steel wing to knock it out of the air, then used body slam again. The Bisharp was still standing, and I glared at him, "Bring it, bub."**

 **He actually charged forward, and I used magical leaf. He blocked them by crossing his arms, and that's when I used grass knot to trip him while he ran forward. He ate the floor, and I finished him off by using Rock Smash, an HM that Connor had found in a Dungeon. The three of them were transported out of the dungeon, and all that was left was the Blastoise. The one that sent the letter. I tried to hoist him onto my back, but the fat prick was bigger than me, so I just wrapped vine whips around his arms and dragged him back.**

"GUYS!"

I was snapped out of my thoughts from Caroline, and I growled, "What?!"

"Connor, Vulcan, Noc and Rose are back!"

 **-Connor's POV-**

"Well… That was different…"

Vulcan nodded, and was back to his usual self after he gave the Phione Dew to Chatot in Sharpedo Bluff. Chatot fed it to Manaphy, and the little pokemon coughed once before murmuring, "Connor…? Vulcan…?"

I teared up, "Yeah… Manaphy. It's us."

He smiled, "Thank… You…"

Chatot nodded, "He should be fine, given two or three days of rest."

We both sighed with relief, and Jade floated in through the wall, startling all of us. She quickly apologized, "Apologies… I had heard that you were back, so I took it upon myself to confirm it."

"It's alright, Jade."

Chatot nodded as we explained that she was a recruit, and he said, "Actually, could you look after Manaphy for a moment? The three of us have important matters to discuss."

Jade nodded, and Vulcan smiled, "We'll be right back, Manaphy…"

We went up the stairs, and Chatot said, "We need to talk… It's about Manaphy's well-being."

I tilted my head, "He seemed fine… Is something wrong?"

He shook his head, "Not now, but this isn't about now. This is about the future. Connor, there will always be danger of this happening again, so long as you're keeping Manaphy outside of his natural habitat. He needs to grow up in the sea."

"But…" I knew that he was right, but I didn't want to just let him go!

Vulcan teared up, "He's right, Connor."

I turned to him, and he sighed, "We looked after him for as long as we could, but now we have to think about what's best for Manaphy. He'll want to stay, but we have to let him go. We have to bring him back to the sea."

I nodded, "...Alright… Chatot, we'll bring him back."

Chatot nodded, "I'll see what I can do. The Guildmaster and I have several contacts. I can spend the next few days searching for someone trustworthy to look after Manaphy."

We both nodded, and he left towards the Guild, "I am glad to see that you made the right choice."

After we went back downstairs, the entire team rushed into the bluff, Magnus lugging a Blastoise behind him, and they all demanded to know what had happened. Vincent checked on Rose, and Jade checked on Noc nonchalantly while Vulcan took care of Manaphy.

That night, we both laid on our beds, Manaphy sound asleep, and I turned to Vulcan, "Hey, are you really alright just letting Manaphy go like that?"

"Connor… You're smart, and a nice guy. You got a good head on your shoulders. But sometimes in order to do the right thing, you have to make sacrifices and go against what your heart is telling you. I do want Manaphy to stay with us, and I am willing to go back to that Arceus-forsaken miracle sea and fight another Gyarados if Manaphy gets sick again. But what I'm not willing to let happen… is letting Manaphy get hurt again because we were selfish. Not as long as I live."

I sighed, and he turned to me, and suddenly he seemed a lot older, almost like he had aged a hundred years in that moment, "I do wish that things were different. But they're not. We have to do the right thing, which is keeping him safe. Even if that means he's safer away from us."

I teared up, and Vulcan sighed, "I have to go to sleep. Goodnight, guys…"

We spent the next few days watching over Manaphy, taking care of him while the team went out on missions.

 **-Caroline's POV-**

After our second day of missions without Connor and Vulcan directing, Mirage had looked about ready to burst with something when I got back from my mission. I came up to her while she was sipping on her 'royal smoothie' and demanded, "Alright, spill it. What's got you so excited?"

She shook her head, "It's not so much excitement as just… I want to know something."

I tilted my head, "And that would be…?"

"Do you like Magnus?"

" _What?!"_

I looked around, but none of the team was in the Café with us, so I half-shouted, "Of course not! What in the world makes you think that?"

She shrugged, "Well, the kicker was when Magnus let you use his head as a stool right before the Sky Peak exploration. That raised a few eyebrows about the both of you! And everyone's kind of had suspicions since then."

She giggled, and I stepped back slightly, "And you're just now mentioning it?! Arceus, no! He's way to stubborn and hotheaded and… and just straight-up rude! You know how he is!"

Mirage shrugged, "I think you should ask him. So far nobody's really said anything to him about it, probably because they get slapped with a Vine Whip if they did, but I'm curious. You should go ask!"

I shook my head, "This is so stupid. I seriously don't."

"Then there's no harm in asking."

"But what if he likes me? That's going to be really awkward!"

She shrugged, "Well, when you're a Meganium, there's a good chance either him or Noc will try to hit on you, so might as well tell them you're not interested now, so that they'll leave you alone."

I paused for a moment, "...Alright."

I walked up the stairs and found Magnus in front of the dojo. Mirage was buzzing behind me, and I called out, "Magnus?"

He turned his head, "This'd better be important. Noc and I were about to go spar."

"I just wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Do you… like me? Like, as more than a friend, or whatever?"

He scoffed, "Of course not. Why the f*** would you ask that?"

I smiled, "Oh, I don't know. There have been rumors going around.

He shook his head, "Well, the f***in' rumors are wrong. Go suck a f***in' leppa berry."

I nodded, "Alright. Thanks!"

He walked into the Dojo, and I heard him mumble, "F***in' girls are a waste of time."

I turned to Mirage, "Told you."

She shrugged and replied, "So you did."

 **-Connor's POV-**

After four days or the same old routine with the recruits and looking after the baby, Manaphy had the strength to run around on top of the bluff. I smiled, "The little guy's as good as new!"

Manaphy jumped, "Good! New!"

Standing nearby, Chatot said, "Connor… Vulcan…"

Vulcan's shoulders dropped, "I know… Now that he's better, it's time…" He turned to me, "Let's bring him to the beach."

We walked down the path, and Manaphy was laughing the whole way there, "Yay! Sea! Connor! Vulcan!"

My eyes teared up, and Vulcan sniffed once. Manaphy didn't catch on, but when we got to the beach, a Walrein was waiting for us.

Chatot spoke up, "The Guildmaster and I have decided to invite Walrein from the Northern Sea. We felt that Walrein would be ideal for looking after Manaphy."

Walrein nodded, "Aye. I've heard all I need to hear from your Wigglytuff. You've my word. I'll take full responsibility for raising Manaphy."

I sniffed, "Take care of the little guy."

Vulcan knelt down to Manaphy, "Alright… Manaphy. From now on, I want you to be good and listen to Walrein, okay? Grow up to be big and strong in the sea…"  
Manaphy tilted his head, slightly confused, but still smiling.

Vulcan's eyes teared up, "As you... get older, d-don't forget about us, okay?"

Manaphy started looking uneasy as he picked up on the sorrow in Vulcan's voice, "...? Vulcan?" He looked at me, "...Connor?"

Chatot tilted his head to the ground, "...Prolonging this will only make it worse." He turned to Walrein, "Walrein, please."

"Aye." He turned to Manaphy, "We're going, Manaphy."

Manaphy looked confused for a moment, then shocked as Walrein began guiding him to the sea.

"...Connor? ...Vulcan?" Walrein kept pressing, and Manaphy looked at us both and bawled, "Connor! Vulcan!"

Then they disappeared under the water.

Vulcan sniffed once and turned away from me, but I saw the tears falling from his face as he sniffed, "Take care… Manaphy…"

* * *

 _ **Boom. This was honestly the second saddest part in the game for me. I don't know if you guys agree, but feel free to let me know how this chapter went with a quick review or PM! Ask questions, comment on what you liked, what you didn't like, whatever! Much Love!**_

 _ **-PL**_


	17. Stop! Dojo Time!

**-Chapter 17: Stop! Dojo Time!-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

When I awoke, Vulcan was sitting up, staring at the sea. I smiled, "Good morning, Vulcan!" Then I looked at Manaphy's bed, and my smile faded. Vulcan didn't even have to turn around before he said, "It's for the best, man."

"I know… If Wigglytuff and Chatot trusted Walrein, then I'm sure Manaphy will turn out just fine. And maybe… Maybe we'll see him again some day."

Vulcan turned around, "Yeah; Manaphy wouldn't want us moping around all day. It might be hard for the next few days, or even weeks, but we will carry on, alright?"

I nodded, and he smiled, "Good. Because we're hitting up the dojo for a long while."

I tilted my head, "The dojo? What for?"

"Let's face it... Without Rose and Noc, we probably would've gotten our butts handed to us against Gyarados. We've gone soft, man."

As I thought about it, I realized that he was right. _I don't remember the last time we've both done a full day of just… Hardcore training… Wow. We've just been so sure of our strength…_

Vulcan nodded, "Yeah. Just because we saved the world doesn't mean that there aren't tougher pokemon out there. Even though we took down Dialga, that was whenever he was half insane. I don't know how we'd do now that he's all there in the head again."

I sighed, and he tossed me an apple, "Anywho, let's get to training! Today we're tackling that final maze!"

We went to Spinda's Cafe, and the recruits were all around the table. Vulcan held up a small stack of envelopes, "Shimmer Hill… Vincent, you up for a recon mission?"

He nodded, "You got it."

"Anybody else want to go on a mission instead? Or do you want to train with us?"

Everybody said that they'd rather train, except for Magnus, who wanted to tackle another outlaw mission, and I smiled, "Then everybody, pair up! You can all take your picks, but try not to bunch up types. Vulcan and I are tackling the Final Maze."

After some conversation, the team had come up with this: Jade with Atlas, Alice with Nocturne, Roy with Mirage, and Rose with Caroline. I spoke up, "Also, we've got tons of TMs in storage, so if you want to learn some new moves, feel free to do that!"

They all nodded, and Vulcan said, "Alright, team! Let's have a good day of training!"

 **-Mirage's POV-**

After stopping by the storage to drop off our items, we all travelled as a group to the Dojo. I began talking with Roy, "So… You…?"

"I… What?" He grinned as he floated beside me.

"I don't know… What's that cape for?"

"It's merely for fashion."

I raised an eyebrow, not buying it, "Really?"

He shook his head, still smiling, "Of course not. It has a chance to emit a sound similar to Perish Song if an opponent attacks me. It's quite handy if I want to wear an opponent down."

"Well, you can't bring it into the mazes."

He gasped, "You're joking!"

I shook my head, and he sighed, "...I'll be right back." He flew off, then after a minute, popped out of my shadow without his cape, "Let's get a move on, shall we?"

When we made it to the dojo as a group, Marowak seemed surprised. He had seen us all around, but never as a full group.

Everybody began moving around, making plans while Connor and Vulcan talked with the owner, so Roy and I decided to talk to Nocturne and Jade, who were socializing. They both turned to us, and Roy and Nocturne instantly hit it off. Jade was relatively quiet, so we didn't do much talking.

After a little while, Jade turned to Nocturne, "So… which maze are you training in this time?"

He shrugged, "I don't care. I'll take on whatever challenge these mazes can throw at me."

She nodded, and I shrugged, "Let's go see what mazes we should do, Roy."

We started looking over the types of the mazes, when Marowak's shout silenced everybody, "WHAAAT?!" Connor and Vulcan both stood in front of the shocked dojo owner, "Do you realize what you're attempting?! I've warned you that that maze is dangerous! You shouldn't go in there!"

Connor nodded, "Yes, I understand that it will be dangerous, but since we've been training in the other mazes, we feel like we can at least put up a decent fight in this one."

Marowak leaned forward slightly, "If you go through with this, I can't guarantee your safety. That maze is absolutely brutal."

Vulcan nodded, "We've been through some pretty brutal fights. We want to be prepared for even tougher ones by going through this tough training."

"...Very well. It is your decision."

I tilted my head, _they want to do all of that training just to be prepared for tough enemies? Well, better safe than sorry, I guess._

Roy smiled, "Well, Mirage? Let's figure out this dungeon business!"

He melted into the floor, and suddenly an idea hit me, and I couldn't help but smile.

 **-Jade's POV-**

I looked at Nocturne, "Feel free to go socialize with the others. I'm not the only one you can talk to."

He nodded and began talking to Atlas about evolution again, and I began observing the whole team. I really didn't care for Roy, but he would make for a formidable opponent in his own right by using a variety of status-inducing moves, and what he told me a few days ago had piqued my interest, and made me unable to focus on the tasks at hand with as much concentration as I would have liked.

 ***Flashback***

" **Roy, you are making no sense. What are you asking me?"**

" **I was wanting a second opinion on whether or not to tell Vulcan about something I overheard."**

" **And that would be…?"**

" **I overheard from one Team Core… That there is this strange, un-named group that is out to get them… And Vulcan. They went on and on about how some relic fragment wouldn't stop them from coming after Vulcan, since his parents died protecting it, or something along those lines. I'll have to find out the rest of the details later. Then they were talking about going and taking out the leader of this supposedly evil group, like an assassination. At first, I was going to tell** _ **our**_ **leaders of the information I acquired immediately, but I've had a change of heart. I was wanting to know your take on the situation."**

 **I paused for a moment before replying, "...I will have to think extensively about it. I don't know how he would react to that kind of news. Nor do I know how the other team would react to your eavesdropping."**

" **That's why I asked. And what are they going to do to me? I'm already dead! Well, thank you for your cooperation, sunshine. Ta-ta~! I'm off to go scare up some of the locals!"**

Soon after my flashback, the rest of the teams had started moving into the mazes, until only Atlas, Rose, Caroline and I were left. Caroline was engaged in a rather one-sided conversation about boys with Rose, but I tuned them out, not being interested in that topic.

Atlas walked up to me, "Once we're in the maze, you want to do a quick spar? I think it will do us both some good, since we're at about the same level."

I nodded silently and followed him into the maze.

When we were transported in, we both moved towards the center of the room. After we moved a good set distance apart, he set his hands ablaze. I looked at him, and I drew up all of the knowledge that I had about his fighting style. _He knows flamethrower, but otherwise has no ranged attacks. He knows foresight, so my ghost-typing will be useless in this battle. And he knows all three elemental punches. This will be a tough match._

He charged forward, and I immediately used astonish. I screeched as I charged him, and he cringed. This opportunity gave me the chance to tackle him and float away before he could grab me. I turned and used ice beam, and he was frozen in a block of ice. His hands and mouth glowed with heat, and he broke out of the ice in a matter of moments. I flew backwards as he launched a flamethrower, and I used attract. I felt his emotions shift, and I said with a soothing voice as I smiled charmingly, "You don't want to fight me…"

He mumbled, "You don't… Urrgh…"

He grabbed at his head, and I felt his infatuation wear off, "Stop that!"

 _He has a strong will..._

I used Ice beam again, but he blocked it by crossing his arms, which were wreathed in flames, making a cloud of steam that obscured our vision. I summoned a hailstorm, and my ability made me vanish into the mist that rolled in. I could see perfectly clearly due to my ability as well, and I breathed down the back of his neck with a cold breath. He jumped up and turned around, and I whispered, "You know you want to stop fighting… To give up…"

Atlas began glowing, and a golden wave of light washed over everything in the room. My evasiveness was negated, and he bellowed a flamethrower towards me. I floated to the side, and used confuse ray, making a small, yellow orb of light float out in front of me. He diverted his gaze, and I flew forward again, but his hand began glowing with heat, and he grabbed my arm.

After that foresight, I couldn't phase out of it, so I used frost breath on his face. His expression went from a smirk to shock as he let go of my hand and I backed away. My arm was badly burnt, so I cooled it down with another frost breath while Atlas broke out of the Ice.

He shivered once, but smirked, "That all you got?" I raised an eyebrow at his endurance, and he charged forward again. I floated up, but he slammed his fists into the ground, sending tremors up the wall and triggering a rock slide right above me. I had to phase through the boulders, and when I rematerialized, he grabbed the bottom of my body and slung me to the ground. _A diversion? Maybe i've underestimated his intelligence… Then again, I am not entirely focused... I need to concentrate..._

I phased into the ground and re-appeared a few feet away, and I saw him smiling, obviously pleased with the move he had just made. "That was a good move, but I won't fall for it again."

 **-Mirage's POV-**

"What is the meaning of this?!" Roy shot a shadow ball at a haunter that chased him out of the wall, and I smiled, "You know how you always sneak away into the walls when the battling starts?"

He shook his head frantically as he flew through the walls, "I do no such thing!"

I continued, knowing that he was trying to get out of the maze by smooth talking, "Well, I'm hoping that this'll help you break that habit."

"You don't think that there could have been a more effective- Gah!" A hex attack knocked him back out of the wall, and he shuddered, "I get it! Sheesh. For a pokemon that buzzes while she flies, you really are a buzzkill during training."

I smiled, "I know that none of the team likes how you're always camping out in the shadows when the battling starts."

He smirked, "What are you suggesting? That I change my ways?"

"Not exactly. More like alter them slightly."

"That means the same-!" He was cut short as a Shedinja knocked him into the wall. He charged up a shadow ball, but the Shedinja dodged and used shadow sneak in retaliation. Roy went down, and we were evacuated from the ghost-type dungeon.

He rolled over after he came to and sighed, "You're a real scoundrel, aren't you?"

I smiled as I turned, "I can be very mean. You haven't even seen my worst."

He chuckled as he floated back up, "Nor you, I."

 **-Connor's POV-**

One thing became obvious as soon as we began our training. The items here were few and far in between. We learned to ration any and all food the hard way when we fainted from hunger the first time around. And the maze wasn't five floors, like all the others. So far we've been knocked out twice, and have only made it to the fifteenth floor.

Another thing: All of the pokemon from the other mazes are here. And they're all really strong. And when we faint, we lose half of our stuff, just like in a regular mystery dungeon. Due to that little inconvenience, when we found TMs, we used them right away, unless we didn't want them, or couldn't use them. Vulcan learned Focus Punch, and I learned scald and toxic. I found a weird colored TM for the move Waterfall, but I couldn't use it, so I just put it back in my bag, saving it for later.

Right now, Vulcan and I were looking for an escape orb to get out of here before we lost some of these items and put them in storage. But it sure wasn't easy. The enemies here wore us down so quickly… When Marowak said this maze was brutal, he wasn't joking. After a few more floors, we called it a day when we found an escape orb. We were transported to the crossroads, and we went into Spinda's Cafe. Magnus was holding a cheri berry in a vine, and he said it was for his client. When the rest of the recruits came back, they all filled us in on anything interesting.

Caroline and Alice both wanted to evolve now, so we let them go off to Luminous spring. Roy raised an eyebrow, "Do you have a Dusk Stone anywhere?"

I shook my head, "I don't think so…"

"Pity. I would like to evolve too. Oh, well. I still have moves to learn. Might as well wait."

After we hung out some more in the cafe, later that evening, Alice and Caroline came back a Lopunny and Bayleef. Alice smiled, and I swear, all of the guys on the team, minus Magnus and Roy, were awestruck. I shook my head to get over the infatuation, and Caroline boasted, "We're back!"

Alice stepped forward and winked at us, and it took almost all of my willpower to stop staring. She was gorgeous, but I knew it was just because of her cute charm ability. Roy popped out from the wall behind me and snickered, "Tsk, Tsk! It's not polite to stare, you know!"

"Shut it, Roy. If you weren't a ghost, then you'd be staring, too."

"Yes, but luckily, I am a ghost, and as such am not governed by issues that come with being alive, such as infatuation. Heehee!"

Alice walked over and smiled at everyone, and after I got over the infatuation, I could see that she was using attract on everyone on the team. Why Magnus wasn't affected, I don't know, but he kept looking at all of us and laughing, "You guys look f***in' dumb! Hahaha!"

Alice stopped her attract move, and everyone shook their heads for a moment before she laughed, "Wow! That's so cool!"

Caroline smiled and walked over to me, "I tried evolving twice in a row, but it said that I need a cooldown time for a couple days before I can be a Meganium."

I nodded, "That's good to know. When Vulcan and I can evolve, we'll be sure to take that into consideration."

Atlas and Alice were talking, and Alice was blushing just as much as Atlas while they conversated. I nudged Vulcan, and he let out a short laugh as he watched them awkwardly talk about stuff.

* * *

 **Bam! Chapter 17! Sorry about the delayed updating! I've been super busy with stuff. As always, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you did! If you have any questions, or suggestions for story ideas, PM me anytime! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	18. Here Comes Team Charm

**-Chapter 18: Here Comes Team Charm-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

It's been about a week since we started training in the Final Maze. As it went by, some of the recruits wanted to take up the challenge with us. First, of course, was Atlas. His fighting-type nature always made him want to test his limits. Along with him, Nocturne and Alice decided to give it a run.

As more time went by, Mirage and went off to evolve again. I asked Rose why she was waiting even though she was a high enough level, and she replied, "I think I look much more elegant like this. Plus, a quadruple weakness to Ice? No thanks. I don't want to have to deal with that."

Atlas ended up learning Dynamic Punch, the final move that he could learn as a Machop, and when I asked about evolution for him, he said, "I'm waiting a little bit longer. I'm psyching myself up for the moment."

I nodded, "Alrighty then."

Then, a few days ago, Roy floated up to us, "Oh, Connor! Vulcan! Just the two pokemon I wanted to see!"

I tilted my head, "Huh?"

He grinned, "You see, I've been training plenty in the mazes, and just recently learned of Electivire's specialty! I wanted to show you a new move I learned thanks to his services!"

I shook my head, "Uh… No, thanks."

He sighed, "Pity. I hoped that you would have agreed. I'll just ask Rose."

He floated through the roof, and Vulcan grunted, "That was weird…"

I nodded, "Yeah… Let's-" Suddenly, Vulcan was gone, and the walls of the cafe fell around me, and I was in the middle of an ocean. I was riding on a Wailord, and Roy was floating next to me, "What do you think?"

I scowled, "Really? I thought I said no!"

"Oh, but I couldn't resist! Miss sunshine would have just hit me with a shadow ball if I tried anything on her. And besides, you're the leader! It's only natural that you should know what I can do!"

He winked, and the scenery changed to a forest. I jumped to the side as a Dodrio ran past, being chased by a Flygon. "Mirage…?"

"That's right. Do you know what this is?"

"It's hypnosis, I take it?"

"No. It's much worse. This is nightmare. Of course, ithas a much different intended use. But for you, I'm making a special case of providing a less… Frightening scene."

"You did that for me? I'm flattered."

He winked again, and I shot awake. He was floating in front of me, and I scowled, "Never do that again."

"Rest assured, it was just this once! You have my word that I will not inflict a nightmare upon any member of this team as long as I am dead. Heehee!" He floated through the ceiling again, and I let out a long sigh.

Vulcan tilted his head, "What was that about? He just blinked, and you passed out."

I shrugged, "He just showed me one of his new moves."

Then, today Vulcan pulled out a small stack of missions, "Hmm… I think we need to start doing missions again. We're pretty trained up, I think."

I nodded, "Let's go check the mission boards. We didn't even think about it while we were training."

When we left the cafe, we walked up the stairs to the guild. When we got to the mission floor, the room was totally empty. Even Chimecho was gone from her desk. Vulcan looked around, "Um… This is weird. Normally there are at least exploration teams checking out the boards."

I gestured to the ladder, "Maybe they're downstairs? That's where they usually are when something big is happening."

He nodded, "Sure. Let's check."

As we climbed down, we started to hear a ton of chatter. When we got down there, we saw the entire guild gathered around a group of three pokemon. A Medicham, Lopunny, and Gardevoir.

"Oh my gosh! It's unbelievable!" Sunflora cried out.

"They're the real deal, by golly!" Bidoof added.

"WOW!" Loudred shouted. "Can I get your autographs, PLEASE?"

I walked up to Chatot, "Hey, Chatot, who are those three?"

He turned around, shocked, "Huh?! There you go sticking your foot in your mouth again!" He scolded, "That lovely trio is Team Charm, the ultra-famous treasure hunters!" He turned back to the trio and went on, "They've earned the master rank, which is reserved solely for teams of extraordinary merit! As expert treasure hunters, they've discovered countless treasures."

Vulcan tilted his head, "They're that famous, huh?"

Chatot nodded, "Moreover, they don't just find treasures. Oh, no! Strong! Smart! Beautiful! The sheer style of their treasure hunts is what makes them celebrities!"

Chatot went on to explain the trio to us, but I wasn't really paying attention. I was gauging their strength. I couldn't be too careful. The last big "celebrity" ended up being bent on killing me, Vulcan, and Grovyle, and dooming the world to be one of darkness and eternal night. I just wanted to make sure we could take them on if we had to.

"But I must wonder…" Chatot broke my train of thought, "What would the beauties of Team Charm be doing here?"

"Hiya!" Wigglytuff walked into the room, and everybody turned to him.

Lopunny smiled, "Oh! Wigglytuff, darling! It's been a long time, sweetie!"

 _Sweetie? They know Wigglytuff?_

Bidoof and Diglett moved to the side as Wigglytuff walked forward, and Lopunny giggled, "Oh, Wigglytuff! You haven't changed one bit!"

"Seeing you as a Guildmaster," Medicham smiled, "Imagine that! That's amazing!"

"It has been a long while, Wigglytuff," Gardevoir added.

Wigglytuff nodded, "Yup! Long time, no see! Have you all been well?"

The guild members began mumbling before Sunflora asked if Wigglytuff knew Team Charm.

Medicham laughed, "Oh, you don't know the half of it! Wigglytuff was a real go-getter back in the day! Like, grrrowl! So how are you nowadays?"

Lopunny clapped her hands, "Back then, Wigglytuff was something else! No one could beat him! So cool!"

Wigglytuff laughed along before Chatot tilted his head, "Uh, Guildmaster… How do you know the beauties of Team Charm?"

Wigglytuff smiled, "Well, they're my friends! Friends from long ago!"

I calmed down a bit, since Wigglytuff knew them personally. But I still kept my eye on them. Dusknoir had everyone fooled, too.

Lopunny nodded, "That's right. We were partners in exploration with Wigglytuff!"

"Whaaat?!" Chatot shouted, "The Guildmaster… And Team Charm…?"

Wigglytuff grinned, "So what brings you all here?"

Gardevoir nodded, "So astute of you. We came about an important matter. Do you recall, when we were exploring a long time ago, that we found a mysterious key? At the time, we didn't know what the key was for. Well, we've finally found out where it should be used."

Medicham went on, "You see, we discovered this place called Aegis cave. That key is a perfect fit for the keyhole to its entrance. There's more. It's said that the cave holds a vast trove of treasure."

The other guild members began murmuring while Lopunny asked, "Say, Wigglytuff, darling… That key we found then… You've still got it, haven't you?"

Wigglytuff tilted his head, "...Key? Um… What kind of key? I don't remember. Ha ha ha!"

"Hey!" Medicham shouted, "We went through a lot to get that key! You're telling us that you lost it?"

Gardevoir shook her head, "...That is typical for Wigglytuff. Some things haven't changed at all, it seems. Lopunny, it's time for our gift."

"I hear you, Gardevoir." Lopunny reached into their treasure bag, "Here you go, Wigglytuff! We've brought you this little gift. It's your favorite! A perfect apple!"

She set it in front of him, and he grinned, "Wow! A perfect apple! This is for me? Yay! Thank you!" He picked it up and bounced it on his head in joy.

"So… About that key…" Gardevoir began.

Wigglytuff caught the perfect apple and nodded, "Oh! That key! The one shaped like an unown, right? I'll go look!" He went back into his room.

"YOOM… TAH!"

The entire room shook for a moment, and Wigglytuff came back out holding a weird looking key. "Here you go!" He handed it to Team Charm.

Lopunny cheered, "Yes, darling! This is the key! This will open the way to Aegis Cave. Thank you, Wigglytuff! Say, why don't you join us? It will be like old times."

Wigglytuff kept bouncing the perfect apple on his head, "Yay! A perfect apple! Thank you!"

Team Charm awkwardly paused, and Gardevoir said, "...You really haven't changed…"

Lopunny shrugged, "We'll be going now, sweetie." She winked at Wigglytuff, "See you later, Wigglytuff!"

They started to leave, and Vulcan spoke up, "Um… Excuse me!"

They turned back to us, and Lopunny smiled, "Yes?"

"Um… Would it be alright if we joined you? For exploring, I mean?"

Everyone started calling out that they wanted to go too, and Vulcan looked at me, "How about you, Connor?"

I nodded, "Sure! It sounds like fun."

Vulcan smiled, "Yes!" He turned to Team Charm, "Please let us go exploring with you!"

Everyone else nodded, "PLEASE?"

Lopunny giggled, "Tee-hee! Everyone is so earnest. You are all so adorable! Of course you may!"

Everyone cheered, and Vulcan smiled, "Yes! Thank you!"

Lopunny nodded, "Okay, sweeties. We'll go on ahead and open up the entrance. You can go in after we do. The cave is located southeast of here." We all pulled out our maps and found the location of the cave. After they left, everybody began making plans. Vulcan and I began discussing which recruits to bring. We stopped at the mission boards, then went back to Spinda's Cafe to talk with the recruits.

"It's a cave, so there are probably rock types… Atlas, you're with us first."

He nodded, "Alright, let's do it!"

Roy was grinning, and I raised an eyebrow, "What's got you smiling?"

"Oh, nothing. I tried reconning the cave, but there is a massive psychic force stopping me from phasing into the dungeon to find out some more about it. So I'd suggest to my fighting-type friend that he evolve before taking on this challenge."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked around at the team, "Psychic, huh? Noc, you're our go-to 'mon against psychic types."

He crossed his arms and smiled, "Alright!"

Vulcan held out a letter with P.E.T stamped on it, and he said, "Roy, you said you're good at recon. I want you to do that in this dungeon. It's called the World Abyss."

The letter started to float towards Roy rapidly, making Vulcan gasp, and he chuckled, "Forgive me, but I saw a TM for psychic in storage and couldn't resist! I don't have hands, after all!"

After he opened and read the mission, he said, "The Rock Horn, huh? Sounds rather dull. Well, recon it is." The letter lit itself on fire and burnt up, and he floated backwards out of surprise before smiling after a moment, "Well, I'm off to explore! I'll be home before sunset, don't you worry your faint hearts!" He floated up through the roof, and Caroline scoffed, "What a weirdo."

Alice glanced at Atlas and went to say something, but Vulcan went on, "Um… Next… Jade. You, Vincent and Magnus are handling a challenge letter from Shiftry in Midnight Forest." He handed Jade the letter, and Magnus looked at it and nodded as Vulcan went on, "Next up, Rose. You and Caroline have two outlaws in Surrounded Sea. You up for it?"

They nodded, and Vulcan handed them the two missions. "Next is-" A new voice came from the entrance to the cafe, "Sorry I'm late! Hope I didn't miss announcements!"

We saw a blur of motion, and a Flygon landed on the ground next to Vincent. I smiled, "Mirage! You're back!"

She nodded and grinned, "I can go so fast, my name actually fits me now! First, I'm here!" Then she vanished similarly to the way Grovyle did in crystal cave, "Just kidding, I'm over here!" She reappeared next to Jade, then she vanished and reappeared next to Vulcan and laughed, "I'm so fast, I'm like a mirage! I love it!"

Vincent smiled, "I knew I picked a good name."

Vulcan handed her two letters, "You and Alice are tackling Mystifying Forest. We got a Dodrio, known for running away and being wicked fast, and another outlaw that's unknown. He or she stole an item, but the client didn't see who it was. It's presumed to be a fire type, since the client remembered intense heat before the outlaw ran off."

Mirage smiled, "We're on it! Come on, Alice!"

Alice hopped forward and winked at Atlas over her shoulder, and I saw her blush before she left. Vulcan turned to me, "Mirage seems a lot more… Hyperactive and peppy, don't you think?"

I nodded, "Maybe evolution creates a change in personality in some pokemon?"

He shrugged, "Maybe."

Atlas walked up to us, "Roy's advice is actually pretty solid. Can I go ahead to Luminous Spring?"

We nodded, and Noc said, "I'll accompany you there. Better strength in numbers, amirite?"

Atlas agreed, and they both left.

Shortly after, Vincent, Magnus and Jade left, then Rose and Caroline. All that was left was me and Vulcan. I smiled as I ordered a blue gummi smoothie, "I wonder what's waiting for us in this dungeon."

He let out a short laugh, "I've got no clue."

* * *

 **Alright, Chapter 18! I'll be out of town for the weekend, so no updates between this one and monday or tuesday! A few Authors' notes: I know that Flygon aren't really that fast in the main series games, but since most of its pokedex entries refer to it as sort of a speed demon, I thought I'd tweak that little detail. As always, I hope that you guys enjoyed! Feel free to leave a quick review or PM if you did! You can ask me questions and leave suggestions for stuff if you want as well! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	19. Ice and Fire

**-Chapter 19: Ice and Fire-**

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

Atlas kept walking alongside me, and tried standing up taller when he got close to me. I chuckled, "You ready to be taller?"

He nodded, "You bet I am. I've been waiting for this moment."

"...So… About Alice..."

He looked at me over his shoulder for a moment, "What about her?"

"Do you think she's cute?"

He nodded briefly before facing forward again, "She's a Lopunny. Of course I think she's cute."

I listened carefully for any signs of affection in his voice, and continued, "Talk has been going around that she might like you."

"Rea- I mean, uh… I don't… Um..."

I let out a warm laugh, "Sounds to me like you've got a little crush, too!"

He picked up the pace, forcing me to almost jog to keep up, and said, "Lopunny are good at acting, _and_ playing with emotions. I wouldn't be so sure she's into me, and vice versa. She's just using attract, probably."

I decided not to respond, instead just laughing to myself. _She's totally into him. It's written all over her face whenever I bring him up._

 ***Flashback***

 **We were training in the Final Maze right before we went on our respective missions, and Alice, as a Lopunny, was getting in a huff over something, because she wasn't her usual cheery, nice self. I tilted my head, "Something the matter, Alice?"**

" **It's nothing."**

" **You've been acting funny since we started training in here. Something is wrong."**

" **I just want to be useful to the team."**

" **Ha! I think that you've already found your niche when you had us all immobilized with Attract."**

 **She kept walking, and I ran to keep pace as she slammed a Linoone across the room with a high jump kick. "You trying to impress someone with those kicks?" She jump kicked a Linoone, and after she caught my undertone, blushed and said, "Pfft! No!"**

" **Whatever you say."**

 **She glared at me, "I'm not!" and I glared right back as I hinted a smile, "You don't want to get into a staring contest with me. I always win."**

 **She grunted and turned away, "Who says I'm trying to impress anybody?"**

" **Alice."**

 **She turned back to me, her cheeks bright red, "I mean, what if I just want to get stronger? I don't-"**

" **Alice, it's written all over your face. In red."**

 **She sighed as her shoulders dropped, "Is it that obvious?"**

" **Only to me. And maybe Connor." I thought about it, then asked, "Just so we're clear, we are talking about Atlas… right?"**

 **She nodded, "You've been on the team longer than me. What's he like? I always try to ask, but I get too nervous and just go and talk to Mirage."**

" **Um… I don't really know him all that well. I was the last of the original recruits, as Vincent calls them. I do know that he's into pushing his limits and tackling things head on. If you want to get his attention, try confronting him, maybe?"**

 **She whined, "But-!"**

 **I shook my head, "I'm just suggesting my idea. Feel free to do whatever you want."**

 **She hesitated, but after a moment, she knocked out a Shroomish and nodded, "Alright…"**

 **-Dodrio's POV-**

 _Heh. They'll never find me…_ I sprinted through the corridors of the dungeon, trying to find the stairs. Suddenly, I heard a buzzing in my ears. _Oh, no…_

Suddenly, I was hit with a massive blast of sound that made all three of my heads wail, "AAaaggghhh!"

I fell to the ground, and a Flygon appeared in front of me, "Gotta love BoomBurst…"

I got up and began sprinting away, but the ground turned to liquid beneath me, and my feet tripped up in the mud. A Lopunny stood in front of me as my heads hit the ground, and she smiled, "You want to take me to your little hideout, or are you going to be difficult?"

I found two of my heads saying, "Uh-huh. Sure."

"Whatever you say, beautiful."

I hissed with my middle head, "Shut up, you idiots!"

The Lopunny raised an eyebrow, "I do appreciate the compliments, but one of you is being a little bit more difficult. Do I have to be mean to persuade you? Because being mean isn't something I like to do."

I shook my head, "Stop with your charmed speaking, girl!"

I pulled myself up and readied drill peck. She pulled her fist back, and I feinted and leapt over her while she was charging the punch. _Heh. She's too slow… Now where's that- WHOA!_

Suddenly I was back where I started, still running full speed, and I ran right into the Lopunny's charged up dizzy punch. I fell to the ground, and the Lopunny grabbed my center head and raised my face to look into her eyes, "Now, I'll ask again…" Her eyes dilated, and her smile became too charming to resist, "You're going to take me to your little hideout, aren't you?"

"Uh-huh. Yes… Follow me."

 **-Mirage's POV-**

"Good job, Alice!" I beamed as I began picking up the plethora of items the outlaw had stolen.

She pat my back and said, "You're the one that got him stuck!"

I smiled, "Who would've thought that he had a whole trove of items?" I shouldered my paint bag, which was full of the outlaw's stolen items, which totaled to about fifteen, and Alice grinned. She pulled out the next letter, "Let's see… An unknown outlaw… Fantastic. We'll have to search everywhere before we find this one!"

We went down a few flights of stairs, and I saw one pokemon that didn't look like it belonged in a forest. It was a Magmar, from the looks of it. I rushed forward and used earth power, but it turned around before I could reach it and used flamethrower. I closed my eyes and flew to the side while Alice used Baton Pass to swap positions with it, confusing it long enough for her to get a dizzy punch in. Her hand got burnt from its flame body, so I flew forward and used dragon breath, making sure to keep physical contact to a minimum. Alice retreated, since she didn't have any ranged moves, and I finished the magmar with a well-timed boomburst after making sure that Alice covered her ears.

I flew forward and tapped the outlaw with my badge, "Well… That's that."

 **-Connor's POV-**

As we went to Aegis Cave, Atlas and Nocturne met us there. Atlas had evolved into a Machoke, and he seemed happy that he was almost five feet tall, so he had almost a foot on Nocturne now. He didn't learn any new moves, but I could literally feel the power radiating from his muscles, which were huge and had pink vein patterns on them.

We walked into the cave and came to a stone tablet in the middle of a room that everyone was gathered around.

Lopunny called out, "There you are! Well, this is Aegis Cave. Beyond this point is unknown territory. No one has ever been inside."

I stared at the tablet, and Lopunny giggled, "Just imagine what mysteries await us inside! Isn't it exciting, darlings?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Corphish called out while looking at the stone marker, "This thing looks important somehow!"

Bidoof nodded, "It's got these odd-shaped grooves gouged out, by golly."

Medicham crossed her arms, "It's got a trick to it, I'm sure. There has to be! I'll solve that mystery! You watch me now!"

"Oh, yes." Lopunny turned to us, "We've asked everyone else already, but what's your team's name?"

I smiled, "We're Team Firestorm!"

Lopunny smiled, "Team Firestorm… I quite like that name. It is simple, yet says "power and greatness". I think we should be on our way. Let's see who can find the big treasure, or treasures, of this place. Of course, we'd be disappointed in ourselves if we weren't first! Tee-hee! But let's wish each other the best of luck! Okay, sweeties, we're off!"

Team Charm left further into the cave, and Loudred said, "YEAH! I'll be the first one to find the treasure!" He ran off ahead and Bidoof followed, "Yup yup, we'll have to step it up, by golly!" Corphish called out, "Hey, hey, hey!" He ran after them, but tripped and then followed them deeper. I turned to Vulcan, "So… Let's check out the marker."

I looked at it, and I examined three gouged out markings. "What do they mean…?"

Vulcan shook his head, "They're unown runes. Grovyle told us that it's an ancient language of some kind, remember?"

I nodded then looked lower on the tablet, "But there's another section… Right here."

Vulcan read it, "This is footprint runes. I can read this…" He examined it for a moment before saying, "If you seek passage, then close your eyes and submit your proof… What proof?"

I tilted my head, "It said to close your eyes… Let's try that."

We all closed our eyes, and waited for a moment. We heard a faint pulsing sound, but it stopped after a moment, and we opened our eyes. Nothing happened, and Nocturne said, "Maybe the proof we're looking for is in the dungeon?"

I nodded, "Worth a shot. Let's get going."

 **-Jade's POV-**

As I floated through Midnight Forest, we came to the challenger. When I observed him, I took note that he had an Empoleon and Blaziken. Probably to cover his weaknesses against any fire, Ice, or bug types. _He forgot to cover his weakness to fighting, one of the more common weaknesses of dark-types. Besides, if Vincent takes care of the Blaziken and Magnus takes care of the Empoleon, I'll simply freeze the Shiftry. It's no concern to me if he is injured. That is what he signed up for upon challenging us._

He smiled cruelly, almost tauntingly, "You got my challenge letter?"

I nodded, and Magnus snorted, "You bet your leafy ass we did. Now are we going to fight?"

The Shiftry smirked, "If you're that eager. Let's go!"

Magnus activated sunny day almost instantly and charged up a solar beam that headed straight for the Empoleon. It used protect, dissipating the blast as Vincent flew towards the Blaziken, then transformed into a Slowking mid-flight. The Blaziken used blaze kick, but Vincent caught it with psychic and slammed him into the ground.

As for me, I went straight for the Shiftry. I had to be careful of its dark-type moves, and rely on my ice-type set. My defense is less than sub-par against heavy hits of any sort.

Magnus used grass knot to trip the Empoleon, which tried to slash at me with metal claw, then threw it away from the battle with vine whip. He then followed up with a Magical Leaf attack, and I used Ice beam on the Shiftry, who was charging up a night slash and running towards Vincent, who had almost finished off the Blaziken.

He was frozen in place, and Magnus threw the Empoleon into him from across the room, knocking him over and shattering the thin layer of Ice around him. He began charging a razor wind, but I used frost breath, not giving him a chance to attack.

Vincent turned back into a Smeargle after the three pokemon were transported out of the dungeon, "Alright! Good job, people!"

Magnus grunted, "Pretty s****y fight. But whatever."

I simply stared in silence.

 **-Connor's POV-**

I used Ancient Power to slam a Golbat into the wall. Nocturne used dark pulse on an unown, and Atlas used rock slide to crush two zubat. Vulcan used slash on another unown, and all the enemies went down in one hit. I looked around at all of the unconscious pokemon, and said, "...Does anybody else think that we over-trained for this…?"

Vulcan shrugged, "Maybe- Oh! What's that?"

He picked up a small stone that an unown dropped, and he looked at it, "It's got a symbol on it that looks like… It looks like the markings on the tablet! Maybe this is the proof?"

Noc shrugged, "Maybe. We should head back and check."

So, we went further down and collected so many of those stones on our first run through, just to find out that we made a loop back to the tablet room, which was where we wanted to go in the first place. When we got there, we had a brief discussion with Team Charm, who were putting together the pieces of what they had to do before they headed off again.

Vulcan dumped all of the stones out, which totaled to about twenty, and he began matching them to the symbols on the tablet. "Let's see… We've got the first one and the last one… But we don't have the middle…" He stood up after stacking the stones back into the bag, "Well, we have to find one that looks like a C."

We went through again, and after a few more Unown dropped stones, I noticed a pattern. "Vulcan."

"Yeah?"

"I think that the Unown drop a stone with a symbol that looks like them. So we don't have to go knocking out every pokemon. Only the ones that look like a C!"

He nodded, and Atlas heaved a sigh, "Thank Arceus. It's already getting annoying having to search for the stones."

We found a C-shaped Unown, and we knocked it out, but it didn't drop a stone.

"Great…" Atlas groaned. "Who knows when we'll find another one…"

We went down another floor and found another C, but it didn't drop a stone either. We came back to the tablet room again, and another time. We had to toss some of the stones to make room for more, and when we threw them, we found out that they exploded like seed bombs when they hit an enemy. So we decided to keep some as ammo.

On our fifth run through, Vulcan placed his hand on the ground, and a shadow claw came from out of the wall and slashed an unown. It dropped a stone, and Noc picked it up, "Yes! We found it!"

We went further in until we came back to the Tablet room. Vulcan took out the three stones after making sure they were right and placed them in front of the stone. We all closed our eyes, but I opened them when I heard a shimmering sound. The three stones floated up and into the tablet. When they vanished, the tablet pulsed rapidly before flashing white and disappearing, revealing a staircase leading further down. We all looked at each other and nodded before heading down.

When we made it to the bottom, there was a chamber with a huge statue made entirely of Ice. Vulcan stared at it and muttered something, and I was about to ask why, but before we could, the statue moved, startling us all into taking a step back. The statue returned to its starting position, and Atlas crossed his arms, "So that's the guardian of Aegis Cave…?"

The statue spoke in a monotone voice, "IF YOU WANT TO GO ON, SHOW THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER."

It shot an icy wind attack, and thinking fast, I used ancient power to make a wall of stone to shield us from the cold. We all scattered, and I launched the wall at Regice, who rebounded against it with Ancient Power itself.

Atlas used bulk up, and Vulcan used dragon dance twice, then dashed towards it with a fire punch. He landed a direct hit on its side, but his hand frosted over almost instantaneously after I heard a hissing sound and the steam cleared from the air.

Vulcan backed away and clutched at his hand, which had turned a light blue and snuffed out his flames, "Don't touch him! His skin's too cold!"

The statue readied Ancient Power, and Atlas used brick break to send the stones hurling back towards it. It floated to the side, and Nocturne threw seed bombs at its feet, which knocked it off balance. I used rock slide, slamming into the ground and sending cracks up the wall that made it rain boulders on the statue. Vulcan used flamethrower, and Atlas used Focus Blast. When the dust cleared, fragments of ice were everywhere. They all condensed and turned into a ball of green light, which separated and floated into us. Then a voice spoke in my head.

 **You have my permission.**

Then, the wall on the other end of the room opened up, revealing a way to go deeper. Vulcan grunted and tapped me on my shoulder, "Looks like we're in for a tough time, Connor."

I tilted my head, "What are you talking about? That statue was the guardian of Aegis Cave, right?"

He shook his head, "Maris always told me about all of the stories of all the sons of Arceus. That wasn't a statue. That was a pokemon named Regice, one of the three legendary golems. If he's here, then I'm willing to bet that we'll be facing the other two."

I nodded, "So we've got at least two more big fights ahead of us, huh?"

He sighed, "Unfortunately."

Luckily, all of us got out of that escapade unscaved except for Vulcan, but he just heated himself back up after using his fire abilities, so we were ready for whatever came next.

When we left that chamber, we came to another that was strikingly similar to the first room. We walked forward to inspect the tablet in the center, when a voice called out from behind us, "That was good work!"

We all turned and Team Charm walked in. Lopunny smiled charmingly, "You handled that battle with superb aplomb!"

"You're going to make us look bad if we don't pick up the pace," Medicham said.

Gardevoir held her hand in front of her mouth and giggled, "This has become unusually exciting for me!"

Lopunny nodded, "But we'll beat you to solving the next mystery! We're off!"

I smiled, "It looks like they've never had any competition in this department."

"We should probably focus if they're taking us more seriously now," Nocturne said.

We all nodded, and I looked at the engravings on the stone. "Vulcan, can you show me all the stones?"

He nodded, "Sure." He dumped out the stones, and I sifted through, matching them to the marker until I smiled, "Looks like we're in luck! We've already got three of the stones. All we need is an O."

Nocturne smiled as he examined the unown letters, "So… It's rock… Regirock?"

Vulcan nodded, "Looks like we're facing him next."

I tilted my head, "Who's- Wait, you can read that?"

Noc nodded slowly, then raised an eyebrow at me, "Yeah...?"

"How do you know how to read Unown?"

"...I took up some reading classes with Maris."

I raised an eyebrow, "Grovyle said that it took him ages to learn to read it. You suddenly just know how?"

"I've been learning off and on ever since you and Vulcan saved the world. It's been almost a year since I started. I'm getting decent at reading non-complex stuff. Still not very good, though."

Vulcan interrupted, "Regardless of that… We're facing Regirock next."

* * *

 _ **Whapow! Chapter 19! Sorry about the delayed updating recently... I have summer school. Blech. Anywho, what did you guys think? Hope you enjoyed, as always! Be sure to leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed! If you have any questions, suggestions, comments, concerns, PM me and I'll be sure to get back to you! Much love!**_

 _ **-PL**_


	20. The Golems of Stone and Steel

**-Chapter 20: The Golems of Stone and Steel-**

 **-Caroline's POV-**

"Blech! So much salt water!" I knelt down to drink some of the water from the dungeon, but it was so salty, I spit it out and nearly gagged.

Rose smiled as she swam next to me, "It's not all bad. At least it's not a fire dungeon."

I sighed, "Maybe… But still… Saltwater is evil. It lies to you. You think that you can get a drink, then you find out that it's too salty, then you want to get another drink to wash the salt away, but the only water around is saltwater!"

I pulled out the mission letters with Vine Whip, and read them, "Kingdra's on the twelfth floor, and a Poliwrath on the fourteenth."

Rose nodded, "Well, we're on the tenth floor! Let's keep strong!"

We went down even further, and we came to the Kingdra outlaw. He started out with a hydro pump, but Rose dodged and disappeared into the water. He turned to me, "They sent two girls after me? Hahaha! This will be easy!"

He used smokescreen, concealing his location, and fired a hydro pump. I used light screen, so about half of the damage was negated, and I retaliated with Magical Leaf. I knew that it couldn't miss, even in the smoke. "That's sexist, you know!" He shouted out in surprise a moment later, signaling that my attack hit him.

Suddenly, the sun shone brighter, burning away the smoke, and Kingdra began panting, "Gah… You..."

Suddenly, the water beneath him exploded, and Rose began constricting around him. She used bind by wrapping herself around the outlaw, then used dragon breath on his face. He went down after I used solar beam and Rose leapt off of him at the last moment. Rose smiled, "Good job, Caroline!"

I smirked, "Now let's get that Poliwrath."

 **-Connor's POV-**

"Now, Atlas!"

He charged forward and finished off Regirock with a dynamic punch to the face while Nocturne and I tripped up Regirock with Grass Knot and Ice Beam. His skin cracked, and he shattered into another orb of light that went into all of us.

 **You have my permission.**

The back wall opened and we went forward. While we were walking, it gave me time to think about how Team Charm had already come through here. After we went through the first time, they had left us a note.

 _To: Team Firestorm_

 _As we promised earlier, we have already solved this mystery. We're going on ahead. This is a race to see who can get to the treasure first, you know!_

 _-Team Charm-_

How they moved on with the marker still there, I don't know. Maybe it reappears behind us, and we just didn't notice. When we reached the next chamber, it turned a shade of grey. We had already collected the stones that we needed for Registeel since Vulcan had said that we should collect them them.

Unfortunately, only Vulcan and Atlas would really be able to do much. Noc and I would help out and hinder the pokemon when we could, but we wouldn't be able to really do much damage.

We lined up and Vulcan set the stones down. They floated into the stone after we closed our eyes, and the stone vanished in a flash of light. We went down, and Registeel was waiting for us.

"IF YOU WANT TO GO ON, SHOW THAT YOU HAVE THE POWER."

Vulcan charged forward and used fire punch on its face. It stumbled backwards, and Atlas knocked it off balance with a Low Kick. It fell, but just as quickly got back up and began glowing. Vulcan charged forward, but a purple and yellow bolt of electricity shot out, and Vulcan fell to the ground, shuddering. Nocturne ran forward and pulled him back while Atlas used cross chop to force Registeel away.

I fed Vulcan a Cheri Berry, and he gasped once before mumbling, "Zap Cannon. Watch out for that..." Then he passed out. A reviver seed latched onto him, and I scowled. _That's a hard-hitting attack. To knock out Vulcan in one blow… I need to be extra careful._

Nocturne set him behind us and he threw a series of seed bombs to disorient Registeel. It looked pretty dinged up, but then it shuddered for a moment before shining like somebody just polished it. Atlas used karate chop, but I heard his hand snap on the now nearly invincible steel body, and he grunted in pain before falling back, cradling his hand.

I sighed, "It's up to you and me, Noc."

Atlas ate an Oran berry and knelt down next to Vulcan, his hand limp and swollen, "Direct attacks won't work. Try ranged attacks."

I nodded, and Noc smiled menacingly. He used mean look, but Registeel wasn't affected and kept lumbering forward. I used Ice Beam, but the beam was deflected by its hand. Noc used grass knot, and Registeel tripped and fell. I immediately got an idea, used that opportunity to start digging.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

Connor dug straight into the ground, and I looked at Registeel, who towered above me by at least two feet. I threw a seed bomb, but it knocked it aside. I activated counter as its fist began glowing, and I ducked underneath its swing and used drain punch, making it stumble backwards and fall.

It started to get up, but then the ground caved in from underneath it, and it fell into a hole up to its arms. Connor popped out of the ground and shook the dirt off of himself. I used another seed bomb followed by another drain punch, and Connor used ancient power to knock Registeel deeper into the ground by hammering the top of its body with the boulders.

It started to levitate up with Magnet Rise, but then a column of flame engulfed it. I turned around, and Vulcan was standing up, the Reviver seed having done its work, and he charged forward again, landing another fire punch. Registeel's hide began melting slightly, and he disappeared into a ball of light that divided into us.

 **You have my permission.**

The wall in the back opened up, allowing us to go through. But before we began moving, three golden balls of light appeared near the ground. They flashed white, and Team Charm was on the ground, unconscious.

Vulcan dashed forward, "Team Charm! Are you alright?"

Lopunny sat up and groaned, "What… Happened to us?"

The other two sat up as well, and she gasped, "Oh! That's right! We were fighting Registeel here… Then Medicham got into trouble…" then she shook her head, "After that, I just don't know."

Then they stood up and turned to us, and Lopunny smiled, "I can see that you saved us, Team Firestorm! Thank you! We were in a bind."

Medicham added, "We owe you one. If you hadn't shown up when you did, that would've been it for us."

"That is so true," Gardevoir said. "I'm afraid that we can never repay you for this."

Vulcan waved his hands, "No, it's fine. You really don't have to-"

Lopunny clapped her hands, "I know! How about letting us back you up at some point, Team Firestorm? Yes, I think we already failed on our own exploration. Tee-hee! Don't worry, we won't steal your glory, or your treasure!"

Atlas' hand had healed up from the oran berry, and he shrugged, "We didn't think that you would, but-"

Lopunny cut him off, "Let's go! Our goal can't be far now!" They lead the way forward, and we decided to follow.

 **-Jade's POV-**

The rest of the recruits were starting to get worried now.

Vincent, Magnus and I had returned from our Challenge letter. Magnus had gone off to have a post-training brawl with the local Pidgeot in Nocturne's absence while Vincent and I drank our respective gummi smoothies. Alice and Mirage had come back with a plethora of retrieved items. Roy filled me in on the recon of World Abyss. Rose slithered in, followed by a Meganium. Vincent smiled, "Caroline?"

The Meganium nodded, and I could estimate that she was about five and a half feet tall. She smiled back, "I'm so tall! This is amazing!"

The flower petals around her neck gave off an intoxicating aroma as she sat down at the table with us, calming me to my very core as she looked around, "Where's Connor's group?"

I shrugged nonchalantly, "I do not know. Perhaps they are in an important fight."

I heard a shout right behind me. I floated forward after letting out a yelp of surprise, and Roy was laughing, "Bahahahaha! That was a really good one! Heehee! But yes, I wonder where they could be!"

 _For Arceus' sake, Roy..._

I launched a half-effort shadow ball at him, but he phased into the wall, then shook his head as he floated out, "Come on! You're curious as to where they are, too!"

I shook my head, "Why does it matter?"

He smirked, "Maybe they got pulled into another dimensional hole. Who knows?"

Rose zapped him with a weak thunderbolt, "Don't joke about that! We were all worried sick when that happened!"

Mirage interjected, "Maybe they're just exploring Aegis Cave. Time in mystery dungeons is sped up, remember? What seems like minutes translated into hours. Just like on sky peak."

Alice looked worried, "I hope they're alright."

Vincent smiled, "Hey, they've been training like maniacs in the final maze. They'll be fine."

Magnus lumbered in, his skin scratched and his wings burnt, and he looked around, "Where's Vulcan and Connor?"

"They're still out exploring Aegis Cave," I replied.

He grunted, "Of course they are..."

I sighed, "Well, as I was saying. I have heard all of your reports, so you're dismissed. Go get some sleep. Since Atlas and Nocturne aren't here, and many of us are larger than previously due to evolution, some of you might have to change sleeping arrangements until they return to adjust the beds to fit your new forms."

They all nodded and left the Cafe, and I followed suit, and we all made our new sleeping arrangements for the night.

* * *

 **Boom. Chapter 20. It's a bit shorter than the others, but that's because the boss fight is a chapter all it's own. that being said, hope you enjoyed! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, suggestions, feel free to drop a review or PM! It really helps keep me motivated to keep posting and writing! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	21. The Golem Maker

**-Chapter 21: The Golem Maker-**

 **-Roy's POV-**

After I made sure everyone was sound asleep on their bunks, I floated through the tent and into the moonlight. I found that it refreshed my spirit, which, technically speaking, was my body. I couldn't sleep tonight. But it was no big deal. "Need" is relative to a ghost. I don't have to eat, drink, or sleep. I just continued them out of habit, I guess.

I flew over Wigglytuff's Guild, the torches lighting up the place, and I sighed dreamily, "Wow… I never realized just how breathtaking Treasure Town was from this high up…"

I was minding my own business when I felt the wind pick up, making me stop. I looked around, but in this darkness, I couldn't see very well. I was body slammed out of nowhere, and I fell to the ground on the outskirts of Treasure Town.

"Oof!" I floated a few feet above the ground, not seeing who knocked me out of my midnight stroll, "What is the meaning of this?!"

A Seviper with a scar across one of his eyes snaked out of the shadows, followed by a Houndoom, a slightly melted Klinklang, and Crobat. I eyed all of them warily, then floated up casually, trying to talk my way out of this predicament I found myself in, "Good evening. What are a group such as yourselves doing out at such a late hour?"

The Seviper didn't talk, instead looking to the Houndoom, then shifting his pupils towards me. My eyes widened, "Oh. So that's how you want to play…"

The Houndoom smirked and its mouth was wreathed in flames as it leapt forward.

 **-Connor's POV-**

Even though Team Charm and our team entered the dungeon at the same time, we were still separated since we were two different teams. We should get to the bottom around the same time though, so it's no big deal.

Atlas had a ball fighting the Machamp in this part of the dungeon while Vulcan and I took care of the Crobat. Nocturne took care of any Unown. We got a few stones, but we shouldn't need them, so we kept a few for ammo and tossed the rest.

One thing I hadn't noticed was that with all the trips we made through the different parts of the dungeon, we had found a plethora of items, including five reviver seeds to add on to the one we have left from our Registeel fight, since Vulcan had to use one. When we got to the huge chamber at the end, Team Charm walked alongside us and we moved forward together. Lopunny leaned forward as she looked around, "This appears to be the last chamber…"

We stepped forward and came up to a bunch of stone statues. Four Bronzong and Four Hitmonlee making a half-circle around a giant stone statue that looked like the granddad of the three other golems.

Then, a deep voice shook the room "THOSE WHO SEEK THE TREASURES SLEEPING IN THE GROUND… SHOW ALL OF YOUR POWER!"

A light flashed, and the pokemon statues began filling in with color, then began moving.

"The stone statues!" Medicham shouted. "They're alive!"

Lopunny turned to us, "We'll team up for this battle!"

Vulcan leaned in, "That's Regigigas, the fourth and most powerful golem. We're in for a tough fight, Connor."

I nodded and spoke up, "Noc, you and Vulcan take care of the ones on the right. Atlas, you and me are tackling the big one in the middle until Vulcan and Noc can get to us!"

He cracked his knuckles, "Works for me!"

We all scattered, and I rode a boulder straight into Regigigas. He tried to raise his arm to block me, but I easily dodged, and it shattered against his face. I pulled the shards back together into a smaller platform that I landed on and continued flying. I expected some damage, but nothing happened when I looked back. Regigigas didn't so much as flinch. He continued lumbering forward at his slow pace. I landed next to Atlas, who smiled, "Let me give it a try…"

His fist began glowing as he readied a Dynamic Punch and he ran forward. Regigigas started to kneel down to stop him, but he leapt up and slammed his fist into Regigigas' face. He rode the shock wave a short distance back, and he landed next to me.

He smirked, but then gasped as he turned around. Regigigas just shrugged off the attack and continued forward.

I tilted my head, "What…? That was a full-force Dynamic Punch!"

Atlas just stood there, his jaw hanging open. Then, he charged forward again, this time sliding underneath the giant. He used low kick on it, and it fell on its face. He jumped onto its back, his muscles glowing from bulk up, he used cross chop, then another dynamic punch. Regigigas stopped moving, and Atlas smirked, "Heh. That wasn't too bad. You'd think that the final guardian would be-"

Suddenly, Regigigas heaved, throwing him off balance. It rolled over, and Atlas ran back over to me after leaping off of its back. It planted its hands in the ground and stood up rapidly.

Then, it charged forward so fast that even I was caught by surprise. I used protect, and Regigigas' glowing fist hit the shield.

The ground around me cratered from the force, and Regigigas turned to Atlas, who launched a Focus Blast at him. He sprinted forward, closing the distance rapidly, and Atlas barely dodged the mega punch thrown by the giant.

I lowered protect and rushed forward towards the dust cloud that had formed from the blow. Atlas sprinted out of it and gasped, "That… Was way too close."  
When the smoke cleared, Regigigas was pulling his fist out of the ground, a crater right where Atlas was a moment before.

Lopunny ran up beside us, "Regigigas has been asleep for a long time… It must have just been waking up while you were fighting it. I'll help too. Medicham and Gardevoir can handle the others."

I nodded as the giant turned back to us, "Um… Don't suppose you can sweet talk Regigigas?"

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

I crashed into a Bronzong with Dragon Rush after using Dragon Dance, and I knocked it into the wall. Noc tripped up a Hitmonlee with Grass knot, then used needle arm to knock it back into another Bronzong. He sprouted two Vine whips and began lashing any others that dared to get too close. I bellowed a flamethrower at the nearest Bronzong, and when I stopped, I expected it to be down, but it was just glowing, but otherwise didn't look fazed by my attack, still floating forward. _What the-?! That should've melted it!_

Nocturne countered a Hitmonlee and used drain punch, then threw it with Vine Whips. I turned and saw Atlas, Connor and Lopunny all fighting the Regigigas, and I gasped as a Hitmonlee leapt in front of me. I used flamethrower again, and it had the same effect as the Bronzong.

Glowing, but otherwise unaffected. I grunted once as I started putting the pieces together, knocked it away with Brick Break, and turned to Noc, who was having trouble with two Hitmonlee.

I readied Focus Punch and began charging while I ran to help him. I focused all of my power into my punch, hoping that I was right. The Hitmonlee turned as I drew near, and I jumped up and punched a hole straight through its face.

It stumbled backwards and fell to the ground. Nocturne looked at me, "What the-?! That was a bit excessive!"

I pointed to the remains, which turned grey and shattered like pottery, then crumbled to dust. I nodded. _I was right._ "They're stone statues. They're not alive, so we have to break them, which means that we have to hit without restraint. Regigigas said show all of our power. I think this is what he meant. I think that in order to beat the statues, we can't hold back."

"You mean like you just did?"

"Yeah."

He nodded and used growth, boosting his mass and making himself bigger, "Let's do this." He turned and decked the Hitmonlee with a needle arm, then stomped on it, shattering it. He grunted with displeasure, but turned to the Bronzong and threw plus-sized seed bombs. Two of them went down and turned to grey stone dust. I used Dragon Dance a few times, then sprinted over to Team Charm and explained what I found out. They all nodded and began making short work of the rest of the statues.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

 _Man… Even though they aren't alive, this still doesn't feel right. I hope we don't have to do this again._

"You think you can handle the rest, Vulcan?" I asked while I deflected a Hitmonlee's kicks with needle arm.

He nodded as he sprinted next to me, and I smiled, "Good. I'm going to join the big fight."

I charged forward, where Connor had frozen a portion of Regigigas' leg and used needle arm on the back of its calf, forcing him to take a knee. Atlas leapt up and used cross chop, knocking Regigigas on its back. I pinned it down with Vine Whips, but it broke through them easily and nearly hit me with a backhand swing. I threw disorienting seed bombs towards its eyes, or whatever circles I thought were its eyes, and it stumbled backwards.

I tripped it with Grass knot, and it fell onto the floor. Connor slammed a chunk of the wall into the giant, and Atlas used dynamic punch. Lopunny used jump kick when it got up, knocking it back into the wall. Connor collapsed the chamber wall onto him, but he remained standing, and growled, its eyes glowing red.

 _Uh-oh…_

It grabbed a chunk of the the wall remaining behind it and lobbed it at us. I barely dodged the massive rock, and it slammed its fists into the ground, triggering an earthquake. Connor floated above the carnage on Ancient Power and slammed the boulder into Regigigas.

It didn't even flinch, and slammed Connor with its fist, sending him flying all the way across the chamber and making a shallow mudkip-shaped crater in the opposite wall. I saw a Reviver seed latch onto him, and I turned back to face the threat. Regigigas' veins glowed purple, and I realized what Connor had done. He had set a timer.

 **Vulcan's POV-**

After Connor was sent flying, I dashed over to him with my Dragon Dance boost. After he awoke, I heard a rumbling noise behind me, and the fight was taking a turn for the worse. Medicham and Nocturne were both sent flying with one swing from Regigigas' arm.

Connor smiled weakly, "Vulcan… Gak… I… Used Toxic."

I saw Regigigas' veins tinted with a hue of purple, and I smiled, "Smart. Now, wait here until the Reviver seed's done, alright?"

He nodded, "I'm not going anywhere…"

I took off to join in on the fight. I sprinted up Regigigas' arm and used focus punch, sending it reeling back into the wall, then used inferno. It crossed its arms to block, and Atlas leapt forward. Faster than I could blink, Regigigas snatched Atlas right out of the air and began constricting, its hands glowing yellow. Atlas strained and used bulk up to try and break its grip, but it put its other hand on him and began squeezing. Atlas groaned in pain, and I leapt up to it again, readying another Focus Punch. I swung, but before it connected, it held Atlas in front of me, making me divert my punch. I hit the ground, and it kicked me away.

Lopunny tried to use Jump Kick, but Regigigas threw Atlas like a ball into the floor, then stomped on him, then proceeded to knock Lopunny away. Then, Nocturne threw more seed bombs after running back to the fight, but they didn't do much except stun Regigigas for a moment. He looked at all of us, his foot still on top of Atlas, and I glared at him. His veins pulsed purple, and he faltered for a moment before staring at us again.

Then, something insane happened: Regigigas' foot was lifted up, slowly, then all at once, and Atlas threw him back into the wall! He stood up and turned, tackled Regigigas, then grabbed the colossal titan's foot and spun it around in a circle before tossing it back into the middle of the room. Then he sprinted forward and used cross chop, forcing Regigigas back several meters.

 _When did he get so strong?!_

He grunted, his muscles radiating power, and I saw that his belt was missing from his waist. He turned to us, "Don't just stand there! Get him!" As I sprinted past, I heard him mutter, "I need to get my belt..."

We all rushed forward, and Regigigas attempted to stand up, but I slammed into its gut with Dragon Rush, Lopunny hit it with a Jump Kick, Medicham used high Jump Kick, and Nocturne used needle arm, then Grass knot. It struggled to stay upright, taking several steps back, and Atlas sprinted forward again, his belt back on his waist, and used dynamic punch.

Regigigas grabbed one of the pillars of stone and ripped it off of the pedestal, and held it like a two-handed sword. It raised its arms and swung, but the stone pillar broke apart in his hands and turned into one big floating maelstrom of stone that slammed into Regigigas from above.

Connor rolled into Regigigas' leg with Ice Ball, freezing it to the ground, then bellowed steaming hot water all over Regigigas' face. Regigigas roared and turned away from the scalding water, but Atlas used low kick to trip it up again, then charged a focus blast.

Gardevoir from Team Charm held Regigigas still with psychic long enough for me to charge up a Focus Punch, and I shouted, "Atlas, toss me the blast!"

He nodded and shot the orb towards me, and I slammed focus punch into it, sending it straight into Regigigas with several times the force that it had originally. The blast connected and blew up.

 **-Connor's POV-**

When the smoke cleared, Regigigas was still standing, and my jaw dropped. Atlas panted, "H… How?!"

Regigigas took another step forward, then another, and its veins glowed purple again. It continued moving, and I started charging Hydro Pump. Vulcan and Atlas stood beside me, and they both bellowed Flamethrowers. I shot my hydro pump, and Nocturne used Magical Leaf. Regigigas stumbled backwards, but took another step forward. I used hydro pump again, and Regigigas shuddered once, then fell forward. Unlike the other statues, he didn't turn into stone and crumble away.

Then, a light shone in front of Regigigas and another stone marker appeared, this one much larger and Crimson colored.

Lopunny leaned forward, "Wh-what is this?!"

Gardevoir floated up to it, "There's an inscription on the stone marker!"

Nocturne stepped forward since it appeared to be in unown letters, "Let me read it…"

He cleared his throat, "Close your eyes, then let your aura flow into the ground..."

I closed my eyes and the same shimmering sound emanated from the stone tablet. I opened them, and the green, silver, and blue lights from the other golems spread from us into the ground.

Then, we heard a scraping sound behind the stone marker. Regigigas started getting up.

"What?!" Medicham shouted.

"Regigigas!" Gardevoir added.

Lopunny stepped back, "We're in for another round?"

I readied another hydro pump, and Vulcan stepped forward, charging another Focus Punch, but unlike before, Regigigas roared and jumped up, slamming its fists into the ground The entire chamber began rumbling from the blow, and pieces of rock started raining from the ceiling.

"Hurry! We have to get out!" I shouted.

We all made a circle and Gardevoir from Team Charm teleported us out. Reappearing at the entrance, we saw it collapse right in front of us. The tremors continued for a bit before stopping. Gardevoir called out, "Is everyone alright?" I did a quick head count: Vulcan, Atlas and Noc were all here. Atlas' body was bruised, and based off of the way he was groping at his chest, I suspected that Regigigas broke more than a few of his ribs and other bones. He'd have to heal up before doing anything else.

Nocturne looked to the sky, "Whoa! We were in there for so long the sun's already up again!"

Surprised, I turned to see the sun almost directly overhead.

"Oh!" We all turned at Medicham's surprised shout. "Look at that!" We looked to where Medicham was pointing and saw a massive plateau risen out of the ground with a hole leading inside.

Lopunny gasped, "Oh! That's…!"

"The ground heaved up! And a gap opened up in the face of the cliff!" Medicham finished.

Gardevoir murmured, "The tremor earlier… What Regigigas and the others were protecting… This must have been it!"

Medicham jumped with joy, "I get it now! That's where they hid the treasures! And they're undisturbed!"

"Wonderful!" Lopunny cheered. "This exploration turned out to be a huge success after all!"

While they celebrated, Nocturne used ingrain and wrapped his arms around Atlas, sending the healing energy through him.

Gardevoir placed a hand on her chin in thought, "But the credit doesn't belong to us this time." They all turned to us, and Gardevoir continued, "Team Firestorm. The credit belongs entirely to you."

I began to say, "But you helped-"

"I'd say it does!" Medicham interrupted. "The treasures in there, all of it belongs to you." She laughed, "My word, weren't you something special! It was like seeing Wigglytuff in action in the old days!"

We all laughed along and when we stopped, Gardevoir turned, "So, shall we go on our next adventure, old friends?"

"Yes, let's do that!" Lopunny answered. She turned to us, "We enjoyed ourselves very much, Team Firestorm. It was fun exploring with you!" She smiled, "If we keep up our explorations, we may run into each other some day. But next time, we'll beat you to the treasure! Take care! Send our love to Wigglytuff!"

She waved as she turned away and Team Charm left.

Vulcan nodded, "We need to get back, too. We've got some explaining to do to the recruits. We were gone for a long while."

 **-Roy's POV-**

 _Yeesh, I wonder what their deal was…_

After squirming my way out of that dilemma with that little group last night, I had dedicated my time to finding a mission with a Dusk stone. I did long for a little bit more… power than I have now.

After another run through the psychic/fighting maze, I floated to the guild to check the next batch of missions. Along the way, I saw Connor and Vulcan coming down the stairs from the guild. I smiled, "Ah! Connor and Vulcan, back from the dead! Everybody was worried, you know! Why, I don't think I got a wink of sleep in your extended absence!"

Connor smiled slightly, "Need is relative to a ghost. You don't need to sleep anyways."

I tilted my head, "Oh, so you know about that little perk as well? Marvelous!"

They kept walking to Spinda's Cafe, and I decided to follow. I just sunk through the floorand took my position next to miss sunshine. Speaking of her, when they walked in, she asked, "What of Nocturne and Atlas?"

Connor said, "Atlas is getting patched up by Chimecho."

Jade nodded, and Nocturne walked down the stairs, "He'll be fine. Chimecho said that he's not allowed to do anything for the next few days, though."

Vulcan and Connor both nodded in response, and I looked around, "So… What exactly went on that put Mr. Muscles in the infirmary?"

Connor said, "We'll fill you all in when everybody's here."

Sunshine said, "Perhaps we may exchange information when all of the recruits return from their missions. For now, as your advisor and second in command, I'd suggest getting some rest. You've been in that dungeon for over 24 straight hours."

Vulcan nodded and began walking up the stairs, "Alright… Noc, come wake us up when everyone's back if you're not taking a nap. Roy, if you scare us before then, then your ghostly face is going to know what a flamethrower feels like."

I smirked, "What makes you think that I was going to do that?"

 **-Mirage's POV-**

"Hah!" I slammed Alice with my tail in the training grounds I found and zipped off. Jade had let the two of us have the day off to do whatever, since we got so many stolen items back yesterday.

Naturally, Alice and I wanted to duel, since it was a good way to pass the time. So I spent a good portion of this morning searching for a good location to hold our little battle.

She rolled out of the impact and stood back up, keeping an eye on me as I flew around her.

"Batting your eyelashes might get you somewhere with the boys, but that won't do you any good against me!"

She winked, "Don't you think I already know that?" I flew in with dragon rush, but right before I hit her, she used baton pass to swap our positions, and I had to force myself to stop before I hit the nearest tree. She then leapt onto my back using quick attack, then followed up with an Ice Punch. I fell to the ground, my wings frozen stiff, and she smiled, "I win! What is that, three out of four?"

I rolled over and stood up, using dragonbreath to melt the ice off of my wings, "Two out of four. Tiebreaker round?"

She jokingly scoffed, "Yeah, right! We need to get back. Connor, Vulcan, Atlas and Noc are probably back by now. We'll settle this another time."

 **-Alice's POV-**

After Mirage and I came back, we found everybody present, including the group that went to Aegis Cave. I gasped at Atlas' appearance since he was wrapped in bandages in several locations, and he was evolved now, making him a couple feet taller than me, "Oh! What happened?"

Atlas' right arm was in a sling, and he smiled sheepishly, "Uh… I'll let Connor and Vulcan fill you guys in."

Jade nodded and spoke up, "Now that everybody is present, I will relay the reports of the missions I assigned in your absence, if that is alright."

Connor nodded for her to go on, and she explained all of the missions and the reports, then again for what happened today. Some of the other recruits added points in. (Mostly Magnus about how he "wrecked that Empoleon")

Once that was done, we all turned to Connor, Vulcan, Noc and Atlas, waiting to hear what went down. Roy was actually floating in plain sight, too, which was totally unlike him.

They explained the process of finding all the right stones, and how Noc could read unown, and all of the guardians and the fights. Magnus seemed pissed, muttering, "Always miss the good fights…"

I was alright hearing this from them. Judging by the typings of the enemies, I wouldn't have done much good anyways. Once they were finished, everybody was chock full of questions, including me. One of the most asked was, "When are we exploring these ruins?"

Connor smiled, "How about tomorrow?"

We all cheered and ordered gummi smoothies to celebrate.

* * *

 **Boom! That was the Regigigas fight! Let me know how it went! If you enjoyed, go ahead and tell me all about it in a review or PM! If you didn't, then let me know how I can improve! Any ideas for OCs in the next story, go ahead and PM me! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	22. A Day in the Life

**-Chapter 22: A Day in the Life-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

Last night, Nocturne was rebuilding the beds to accommodate Caroline's new form. We ended up expanding the tent, and when we awoke the next morning, we all met in Spinda's Cafe, "Good morning everybody!"

They all waved and nodded, Atlas' body still wrapped in most places. Vulcan smiled, "Alright, we've got two major missions going on today. One: Explore the Concealed Ruins, and Two: Get the Icy Flute from Mt. Avalanche. Connor and I will both be leading teams to both of the locations. Both of the missions are basically treasure runs."

I looked around, and Vulcan continued, "So, I'm leading the Icy Flute mission. Alice, Jade and… where's Roy?"

Vulcan's shadow expanded out from beneath him, and a Mismagius cackled, "Heehee!" As it rematerialized right in front of him, "You rang?"

Vulcan sighed heavily, "For Arceus' sake, Roy… When did you evolve?"

"Just last night. I got bored, so I bought a Dusk Stone from a wandering Kecleon Merchant. I totally didn't scare him into fainting and steal it."

Vulcan leveled an unconvinced look at him, "Really?"

Roy smirked, "No, I seriously bought it. Don't worry. I've joined an exploration team. I can't go and give my partners a bad name!"

Vulcan sighed, "Alright… You, Jade and Alice are with me." Jade rolled her eyes slightly, and Roy floated over to her, "Don't you worry sunshine, we're on a mission. My scaring duties are cancelled until we get back!"

I picked up where Vulcan left off, "Noc, Magnus and Vincent. You're with me to explore Concealed Ruins." Vincent cheered and Magnus grinned, "'Bout f***in' time."

Noc raised his hand, "Um… Could I have the day off to train today? I've had enough of caves for a while."

I nodded, "Alright. Your call, Noc. Mirage, you up for it?"

She smiled, "Of course!"

Vulcan looked at the rest of the recruits, "Alright… Caroline, Noc, Rose, you're training today. Atlas, you're on standby until you heal up. Don't even try arguing."

He nodded, "Alright…" Although he didn't look too happy with the decision.

I nodded, "Well, we've all got our missions! Let's move out!"

Vulcan's group left right away, and Alice shot a quick glance at Atlas before exiting. I turned to the rest of the recruits, "Let's hit up storage. Mirage, we need to cover your weaknesses with some fresh TMs before we go. And we might as well restock."

She nodded and zipped up the stairs. When I followed, she was already across treasure town by the time I was up the stairs.

When I got to storage, I looked through all the TMs, and picked out three. "Flamethrower, Steel Wing and Stone Edge. Three really good moves."

She tilted her head, "But Vulcan and Atlas already know Flamethrower."

I smiled, "Doesn't that tell you how good that move is? Here." I slid them to her, and she tapped them to her forehead. "Thanks!"

 **-Jade's POV-**

Vulcan was able to handle almost all of the Ice-types alone. Alice hopped alongside me, and Roy just floated in the air nonchalantly, firing shadow balls or magical leaves occasionally, and sometimes scared an enemy just for the fun of it.

The dungeon was full of Treasure Boxes, too. Good thing Vincent made us all paint bags to carry other items.

Along the way, I learned Captivate, and since I had already learned shadow ball with a TM, I skipped learning that. Apparently upon Evolution, Roy learned Mystical fire, power gem, and phantom force, because he was using all three of those attacks in addition to his standard attacks.

At one point he shot a shadow ball directly over my head, and when I glared at him, he chuckled, "I was just getting that one behind you!"

I turned, and there actually was a weavile behind me, stunned from the shadow ball. I finished it off with draining kiss, and Roy materialized next to me, "See? I'm not always out to get you! Heehee!"

He floated off, and I saw Alice hopping up the mountain ahead of me, shaking the snow off of her fur. She had her defrost ruff in her treasure bag, since she said that it made her 'look like a dork' when she actually wore it. When she said that at Spinda's cafe, Roy hastily agreed. He got a shadow ball from her in retaliation, but he dodged and blew a raspberry before he phased into the floor.

I was drawn out of my thoughts when Vulcan panted, "Jade, how are we doing on items?"

I pulled out the wonder bag, "We've still got one reviver seed, three apples, four oran berries, five unown stones, and a few other seeds."

Vulcan nodded, "We weren't near as prepared as we should have been."

I nodded silently. _Even though we knew which enemies we were going up against, and how tall the mountain was, we were still under-prepared._

Along the way up, we found several more treasure chests and orbs. When we reached the summit, we all looked around, and Alice said, "Where's the Icy Flute?"

A light flashed, and I tensed up, ready to use ice beam on whatever decided to show itself. When the flash subsided, a big, blue bird was flying in front of us, "Seekers of the Seven Treasures! I am Articuno! The guardian of Mt. Avalanche! If it is the treasure that you seek… Conquer the freezing cold… I challenge you to surpass your limits… Demonstrate your power to me! Now it begins!"

I fired my ice beam, but Articuno unleashed an even more powerful one. Just as its attack began to overpower mine, Vulcan used belly drum, then inferno, which, at that moment, probably saved me from being frozen. Articuno used blizzard to counter, and Alice's hand began glowing, signaling baton pass. Roy had slipped into the wall, and occasionally an erratic fire display or shadow ball would shoot from the floor or wall, signaling that he was in the fight as well.

I flew forward and tried to use attract, but it didn't work, probably because it was a legendary, but for whatever reason, it knocked me back into the ground, and just before I hit the ground, I was suddenly floating where Alice had been just a moment ago.

Vulcan bellowed another flamethrower while Alice was shaking off the fall that she took for me with Baton Pass. Then, she used it again, and Articuno was on the ground, flailing to get up, and Alice landed on it with a charged up kick. Vulcan used fire punch, and Roy floated out of the wall and used power gem, then sunk back into the floor. Articuno flailed to get up, but all of the snow that began covering it hampered its efforts.

I used draining kiss on it, and it grunted once before it threw us all off. It took to the air again, and I used blizzard to throw it off while Vulcan used flamethrower again. It whipped up a snowstorm flurry, reducing our visibility to zero, but for me, this was paradise. I made my way through the flurry, practically invisible, but I saw Roy get to Articuno first and use hypnosis. Roy grinned, "Heehee! I thrive in these conditions!" He used dream eater, and Articuno began shaking in its sleep.

It woke up, shocked, and shot an ice beam at him. He dodged it and used spite. Articuno tried to use ice beam again, but it just fizzled out. Roy smirked and sunk back into the ground. While it was on the floor, Alice used dizzy punch on it.

It began flying away, its wings singed, and after it left, Roy floated out of my shadow, his ghostly hat blocking my view of everything else, "So… What now?"

After I pushed him out of the way, a small orb of light appeared, and a small blue box with ice patterns on it appeared. Vulcan opened it, but at his touch, the box began to melt, so Alice opened it. Inside was a flute made of blue ice with white snowflake patterns on it.

We waited for a moment to get transported out, but since nothing happened, Vulcan pulled out an escape orb and threw it down, and we were warped off of the peak.

 **-Connor's POV-**

There wasn't really much to say about the concealed ruins. It wasn't that hard, which Magnus was ticked about, but we got six treasure chests at the end. We were waiting for Vulcan's group to get back from Mt. Avalanche.

When they got back, Roy was unusually silent. He floated and sat down next to Vincent, and wordlessly began filing through the stack of missions.

"What's up, Roy? You're being unusually quiet."

He looked up at me, "Oh, it's nothing. Just thinking…"

"About what?"

"Things."

I nodded, "Alright."

Alice came in holding the icy flute. Since we already had an ice-type, we had decided to wait and see if anybody had come to claim it. After a brief explanation and telling each other what happened, Roy said, "If you'll excuse me, I need some fresh air."

He didn't even wait before floating up through the ceiling. Noc tilted his head, "What's gotten into him?"

I shrugged, "Beats me."

 **-Roy's POV-**

I floated up and away, longing for a little bit of time to myself.

 _Ugh… Those four… It's a shame that I couldn't extract them for information._

 ***Flashback***

 **That night with the four pokemon that disrupted my midnight stroll, I had barely escaped. I was surprised that they were so poorly coordinated. The houndoom leapt at me, but I used psychic to throw the seviper into it, knocking it aside. I used hypnosis on the Klinklang, and used psybeam on the Crobat, who was trying to sneak up on me from behind. I slammed her into the ground, then into the Houndoom, who had managed to stand back up. The Houndoom used flamethrower, but due to the frequent use of it on my team, I had already anticipated it and sunk into the ground. I popped up and used psychic again to slam the Seviper into it again, then proceeded to use spite. The Houndoom tried to use flamethrower again, but it snuffed out as barely a trickle of flame, and I smiled, "You're working for a pokemon named Mordred, I'd presume?"**

 **The Houndoom growled, but said nothing.**

 **I smiled, making sure to keep a calm composure, "I'll ask this instead; Where is Mordred? I overheard rumors of a group of Pokemon out to get Vulcan, and I think the lot of you fit that description."**

 **The Seviper threw down an escape orb while I was occupied, and I cursed my luck as they were all transported away before I could do anything further.**

I shook myself out of my little flashback and looked to the ground, "Nothing I can do about it now... What a pity."

* * *

 **Alrighty, kind of a short chapter, so that's why I uploaded it in 12 hours. Apologies for the filler content. As always, I hope you enjoyed! If you did, go ahead and leave a quick review or PM! It's much appreciated! Many thanks to DeoxysSpeed and Onyxwhip for supporting me throughout this whole thing. Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	23. Dreams and Memories

**-Chapter 23: Dreams and Memories-**

 **-Victor's POV-**

"You have failed me yet again. First, you're defeated by a Tropius! Four against one! And then you retreat from a single Misdreavus that you caught by surprise, and you were even aided by Nagini and Fornax!"

"S-sir, I-"

"Silence. I am sorely disappointed in the both of you. You need to get your act together, before I turn you all in to Officer Magnezone."

They both nodded nervously, and I waved them away, "Now get out of my sight."

Once they left, I sighed, "It seems like they're already much more powerful than I'd previously imagined. We need a new plan."

Mordred nodded, "I can take them down single-handedly. All I-"

"You can take them down? Evident by how you lost to their Tropius? With Rogue, Koumori and Torrent to assist you?"

Mordred grimaced and said, "I am able. And willing to. I simply underestimated the Tropius' tactical finesse. From the reports Koumori had relayed, this brute was very hot-headed and had little to no strategy in his attack patterns."

I shook my head, "Regardless, I don't want you going. Not until we're good and ready."

He nodded, "Yes, sir."

 **-Connor's POV-**

A few days had passed since we did that double mission for the icy flute and Concealed Ruins. The Icy Flute stayed with us, since nobody came to claim it. Alice had taught herself how to play it, and Jade especially liked listening to it.

There were also new friendships and relationships coming to light that I hadn't noticed until recently.

Magnus and Nocturne had actually started duking it out with each other. They were both pretty evenly matched in spite of typing, and either one of them could win or lose by a small margin.

Mirage and Alice seemed to be closer as well, Alice seeming to become more… Confident in her strength. And she began talking to Atlas a little bit more, which means that something might start between them.

Rose and Caroline also seemed to be hanging out more after Caroline evolved into a Meganium. Speaking of her, she was now able to calm Magnus' temper. And all she had to do was come close to him. The smell from her neck flower thing made everyone calm and peaceful. It was pretty cool.

Vincent and Atlas were still best friends from the beginning, cracking jokes and making boasts about strength and such.

Roy occasionally chimed in and joined, but since he was more into scaring others, it wasn't very often. He hadn't really changed all that much.

Vulcan opened the mission letters and read through a few. "Oh, Roy, you've got a fun mission. A Cherrim outlaw that stole an item in Treeshroud Forest."

"Oooh! Marvelous! Rest assured I will get your item back! Not to worry!"

He picked the letter up with psychic, and tilted his ghost-hat, "Many thanks." He floated up and away through the ceiling.

Vulcan sifted through some others, "Let's see-"

"Are you team Firestorm?"

I turned and saw a group of four Pokemon walking into the cafe. A Riolu, Kirlia, Greninja and Blaziken. Vulcan raised an eyebrow, "Who's asking?"

The Riolu stepped forward and knelt on one knee, "We are Team Hope. We had heard of your many successful missions, and your great feat in besting the lord of time, and we desperately wished to meet the great heroes that saved our world."

Their way of speaking set of a red flag in my head, "That's some fancy talking… Not from around here, are you?"

He shook his head and stood up, "Forgive my lack of courtesy. I am Nashoba." He gestured to the Kirlia, "This is Cosmo, my second in command and good friend." She waved and smiled, and the Riolu continued, "This is Zenith and this is Shinobu, my fellow teammates and friends as well." He pointed back to the Blaziken and Greninja, respectively.

 _Those are some very, very foreign-sounding names._

The Greninja was observing us silently, and Nashoba nodded politely, "May we sit?"

I nodded, and Team Hope sat down next to us. Nashoba smiled, "This is quite the honor to sit with the great heroes…"

I nodded and turned to Vulcan, "Speaking of that… Nobody's really said all that much about that… In fact, you're the first team that's really been all like, 'whoa, the heroes that saved the world!' or whatever."

Nashoba chuckled, "I can't say I'm surprised. Not many knew that the world was in peril at all. We had heard from team Core that the world was coming to a halt. We couldn't come to Treasure Town at the moment due to prior commitments, but now that we can, we wanted to give you our thanks."

Nocturne raised an eyebrow, "How do you know Team Core?"

"Cosmo and Seth were great friends before they split ways to join their respective exploration teams. Seth wanted his team to keep in touch with us, and the same goes for Cosmo."

Alice sighed dreamily, "That's too bad that they had to separate. A Gardevoir and Gallade are like a match made by Arceus."

Cosmo blushed slightly, and I asked, "So where are you guys from anyways? Eastern Immanis? Past the great mountain range?"

The Greninja nodded, "Indeed. We are from the eastern side of the mountain range that divides the continent. We are what some call nomads. Always staying on the move, not staying anywhere long enough to grow attached to the inhabitants."

Atlas tilted his head, "Nomads? You guys don't have a place where you sleep or whatever?"

Nashoba reached into his wonder bag and pulled out a little square piece of fabric. I tilted my head, "What's that?"

He tossed it onto the ground, and it instantly expanded into a full-sized blue and black tent with a pretty sweet looking symbol on it. It kind of looked like a bunch of time gears interlocked, with a cool pattern surrounding it. The Kirlia's eyes glowed, and the tent folded itself up into a cloth again.

He smiled, "We make due with what we have."

Jade seemed really perplexed, "What is that material…? And where did you get it?"

He shrugged, "Team Core gave it to us a while back. Never said what it was, only what it did."

I nodded, "Team Core really likes giving people gifts, huh?"

The Riolu nodded and put the cloth back into his wonder bag, "You would be correct. They are a generous group, more often than not."

He began getting up after Shinobu, the Greninja, said something to him almost inaudibly, "Well, while it's been a great honor meeting you all, now we must take our leave."

The team got up and left, and I turned to Vulcan after making sure they were out of earshot, "That was weird…"

"No kidding." He looked back at the envelopes, "Now, the missions…"

 **-Cherrim's POV-**

 _Heh. Nobody will ever find me here… This fog will hide my presence from anyone trying to find me!_

"On the contrary…"

I let out a startle yelp, and I looked around, but I didn't see anything. Was that a voice…? _Maybe I just imagined it…?_

I felt a light breeze brush past me, and I glanced around nervously. _Maybe I should have chosen a place with better visibility._

An eerie wail seemed to echo throughout the entire forest, and I shuddered, "H-h-hello…?"

The wailing continued, seeming to get ever-closer. I began to back away, and a voice chuckled, "Oh, you're a new face… Let's see what you're made of, shall we?"

I shook my head, "N-no! Go away!"

The voice came from my left, "Hm, hm, hm, hm, don't be afraid. I just want to play around a little bit."

I saw a dark shape fly towards me, and I shouted. My shout turned into a red trail of smoke that dissipated, and the dark shape moved closer. I saw that it was the wanted poster of me, just floating there. "That's right… You're next. The others were easy work..." The paper was torn in two by an invisible force and the two pieces fell to the ground at my feet.

I turned and ran, trying to get to the stairs to get away. I sprinted, but suddenly the corridor in front of me erupted into flames, and a dark shape pushed me back into the center of the room. "Did I say you could leave? I haven't even begun!"

I looked around nervously as the flames disappeared, and I started using flash to burn away this fog, when suddenly I was engulfed in darkness. I felt a tingling sensation on the back of my neck, and I turned, just in time to see a horrible face fly at me, screaming.

"AAAAAAAAAHH!" I passed out.

 **-Roy's POV-**

"HEE-HEE-HA-HA-HA! This was the most fun I've had in a long time! I have to thank Connor and Vulcan for letting me come out and do this!"

I slung a tear off of my eye with psychic, and I looked around, "That was truly marvelous… I must request missions here more often!" My badge began glowing, giving me the option to leave, and I sighed, "Oh, well. Fun's over." I tapped the outlaw, and she was transported back. I was about to follow until I saw a dark shape out of the corner of my eye. I shifted my gaze, What was that? ... _The mission is already over. Might as well kill some time._

I flew towards the area where I saw the movement, and I narrowed my eyes, and reached out with psychic to find this mysterious pokemon. Suddenly, my scanning pulse was absorbed by a malevolent force unlike any I had ever felt. I gasped as I was shook out of the attack, and began rapidly flying after where the disruption had come from, a little ways to my left.

I looked around, expecting some kind of trail, but I saw no signs. _Maybe it's a floating pokemon…?_ I looked at the branches, and sure enough I found one of them bent at an odd angle. I floated forward, seeing a flicker of darkness in front of me, and I heard a voice that froze me in my tracks, "The distortion of space…"

It was a deep, nerve-racking voice, and I could feel the rage emanating from the shadows. The sound was all around me, so I couldn't pinpoint the source. The fog was really thick now, and I was suddenly nervous. I felt the shape fly behind me, and I lashed out with psychic, but the attack did nothing. _A dark type… Marvelous…_

Suddenly, a clawed hand grabbed hold of my chest, and I gasped as an electric blue eye stared at me, "You're lucky I'm saving my energy, little ghost… Goodnight." He blinked, and I lost consciousness.

 **-Rose's POV-**

After Vulcan handed out the missions, we ended up moving out for the day. I had an item-fetching mission with Caroline. It was in Brine Cave, so we didn't have that much trouble, especially with Caroline's' light screen and reflect boosts. After she shot a solarbeam at a Dewgong, blasting it into the wall, she turned back to me, "So, when are you going to evolve?"

I tilted my head, "Huh?"

Her eyes glowed, and a Kingler tripped on a grass knot. I zapped it with a thunderbolt, "What do you mean?"

"I'm pretty sure you've reached the level you need, and that you've already learned all the moves that you can learn. Why haven't you evolved yet?"

"I just like my serpentine physique. Having hands seems kind of weird, and I think that I look much prettier like this."

She smiled, "I think that having hands would be awesome. And you can fly! How cool is that? I'd be willing to give up a little beauty to be able to fly like Magnus or Mirage."

I turned and kept moving, trying to find the stairs, "I'm not quite that ready for that big of a change."

She nodded, "Suit yourself. It's your decision. I'm just sayin' that I'd evolve if I were you."

I nodded silently. _Ugh… I seriously can't decide… Should I, or shouldn't I…? Why am I so torn about this? Oh, well. I have a mission to do._

 **-Vincent's POV-**

I flew around the outlaw while Alice used baton pass to swap their positions, putting him right in front of me to use giga impact. I was surrounded by the red wispy aura, and I rammed full-throttle into the Emboar. He fell down, and Alice kicked him once more. I shuddered from the aftershock of the move, and Alice panted, "That… Was tough…"

I nodded silently, still unable to speak as she nursed her burns. She sat down for a moment, and I grunted as the shock wore off, "You alright, Alice?"

She nodded silently and closed her eyes. I tilted my head, "What're you-"

"Shh."

"But-"

"Shh."

I huffed, "Fine…"

While I waited, I transformed and experimented with other pokemons' natural abilities. It helped to pass the time, and make me a more diverse fighter. I morphed into a Druddigon, then a Blaziken, and by the time I got done practicing, Alice opened her eyes, which were filled with energy again.

She tapped the Emboar with her badge and pulled out the second letter, "Alright, Vince… We've got to find an orange gummi on the eighth floor."

I nodded, "Alright. Let's boogie."

As we headed further into Steam Cave, Alice turned to me, "You were one of Connor and Vulcan's first recruits, right?"

I nodded, "I was the second of the original recruits."

"Original?"

"That's what I call the six of us that joined their team before they saved the world."

I smirked and looked back at her, "We joined Team Firestorm before they were cool."

She smiled, "I… I see. Well… What is Atlas like?"

I transformed into a Poliwrath and decked a Magmar, then proceeded to use hydro pump on a Magcargo. "Why? Did he tell you to come ask me about him or something?"

She shook her head, "No, it's just… It makes sense to maintain optimum outward relations with teammates to maximize effectiveness in combat. And Nocturne wasn't really much of a help, since he was the latest of the 'original recruits', as you called it."

I chuckled, "Okay, Jade's fancy talking's starting to rub off on you. Can you speak my language?"

"If I get to know all of the team better, it'll help us be more connected and work together better."

I nodded, "That's better. Well, for Atlas… Geez, where do I begin… He was right before me… So we've been best friends since the beginning. Um… Well, he's a tough guy, with a huge drive to overcome tough challenges. He loves impossible odds in fights. He feels like it gives him a challenge. Heck, if Magnus wasn't a flying type, those two would probably be duking it out every day. When it comes to fighting, he doesn't joke around. What else do you want to know?"

She looked to the ground for a moment before replying, "Nothing else. Thanks."

"No prob."

When we reached the floor with the item, Alice found it and said, "Let's head back."

 **-Connor's POV-**

After the recruits came back from all of their respective missions and Vulcan and I finished training in the dojo, everyone gave their reports. After that, I glanced around, noticing something strange.

"Where's Roy?"

Jade glanced around, and Nocturne tilted his head, "Maybe he's already turned in the outlaw and gone to sleep?"

Jade shook her head, "He doesn't require sleep. And even if he did, calling in early without advanced notice is simply unprofessional and breaking every-"

Vincent chuckled, "Pfft, please. You think Roy's professional in any way besides scaring others?"

She shook her head and frowned at being interrupted, "That's not what I meant."

Atlas crossed his arms as a smirk formed across his face, "Roy's pretty powerful in his own way. He's probably fine."

I nodded, and Vulcan sighed, "We'll just talk to him about it tomorrow."

After the recruits went to the tent, Vulcan and I headed back to Sharpedo Bluff. We were talking about what we would do once we evolve, and I said, "I'll be happy to have fingers. It's annoying not being able to hold stuff properly."

Vulcan laughed and said, "Flying would be so cool… Plus, I-" He was cut short by a flash of light and a roll of thunder. We both looked out the mouth of the bluff, and Vulcan tilted his head, "A storm…? Haven't had one of those in a while."

He looked back to me, "Well, we should get to sleep, before we can't from all the rain."

I nodded, "Probably. Goodnight." I curled up on the hay and went to sleep.

 **-?'s POV-**

Rain poured all around me as I hid in treeshroud forest. That blasted ghost almost found me… He was lucky that I didn't put him down permanently for his incompetence. I already had one nuisance tracking me, and two would only complicate things further… However, it didn't matter.

"...This is proceeding nicely. The forest's distortion in the very fabric of space is growing. Ah, the distortion of space and dimension itself! if it expands further… My own power will be amplified! I failed to destroy time…"

I growled at the very memory of what happened… _Stopped by my own apprentice… After he was sent into the future, then brought back to this time by his own power that I bestowed upon him!_

"But things will be different now..."

A branch snapped, and I grunted, "Hm?! Someone's coming! It's Cresselia… That persistent pest! I must not be caught… Not ever!"

 **-Cresselia's POV-**

Flying into the clearing, I tried to continue tracking the trail of darkness and slumber, but it faded, just like it always did.

"He got away again… This is the closest I've ever gotten… But he always slips away. It may be difficult, perhaps impossible to catch him."

I shook my head, "No. I can't give up. He has to be caught. And the fabric of space being distorted like this must stop! Before it accelerates further! Before the world is thrown back into turmoil! I've got to do whatever it takes. I must stop Darkrai!"

* * *

 **Dun dun duuuun! Guess what? Cliffhanger for a week! I'll be out of town for that long, so that's why I uploaded another so soon. So you guys go ahead and enjoy this chapter! So many questions! What happened to Roy? Will Alice and Atlas ever get together? Hmmmm? All these questions, and so little time! As always, hope you enjoyed!**

 **Go ahead and leave a quick Review or PM and I will get back to you as soon as I can! I should still have my phone, so I can reply to reviews and such. The support is much appreciated, so I will see you in a little while! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	24. Waking Up Inside

**-Chapter 24: Waking Up Inside-**

 **-Jade's POV-**

Everyone was slightly worried now. Roy hadn't been in the tent last night, nor this morning. We had fanned out in an attempt to find him, and I even went into the shadow dimension in search of him, with the notion that he might be hiding there, just to scare us. But there was no trace of him to be found. When Connor and Vulcan met up with us at Spinda's cafe, we told them of the predicament.

"Where was the location of the last mission you assigned to him?"

Vulcan tapped his chin in recollection, "I think… Treeshroud forest?"

I nodded, "May I go search for him?"

Connor smirked, "I thought you didn't like him."

"I don't necessarily _like_ him, but he is a member of our team, and as such, we must find him and make sure that he is alright."

Mirage pointed out, "Even if he were knocked out, he would've been transported back to the crossroads."

I hadn't thought about that… _He can't die from anything other than another ghost-type… And he must not have been knocked out… But he can't get lost. That probability is literally impossible for him._

I turned to my leaders, "May I search regardless? Just in case the mystery dungeon didn't transport him out?"

Connor nodded, and I floated through the ceiling and shadow-travelled to treeshroud forest.

 **-Roy's POV-**

"...ke up."

"Ooooogghhh…."

"Wake up!"

"Wha…?"

"Roy, don't make me use wake-up slap on you!"

"Oh, sunshine… Lovely of you to come check on me. That wouldn't have worked anyways, you know..."

I opened one of my eyes and glanced at her, and she looked livid, "What do you think you're doing?"

I yawned once as I floated upwards, "Merely taking a nap… Why?"

"You were gone for almost a whole day!"

I shook my head, "No… I only took a short snooze this morning."

She glared at me, "Well, where were you last night?"

I tilted my head, "I was in the tent last night. I scared you once before we went to sleep, and you caused a small snowstorm in the tent, so I came back to treeshroud forest the next morning and took a nap after Connor and Vulcan gave us our missions… That's all I recall."

As I tried to think more about it, the more and more fuzzy the memory seemed to get. Thank Arceus. It was horrific.

Jade sighed, "Well, you weren't there, Roy. You weren't at the tent last night. We were all worried for you."

I looked to the ground, "You say that I wasn't there last night…?"

She nodded, "Nobody saw any trace of you."

I looked back to her, "But I was asleep when you woke me up?"

She nodded again, "Yes…"

"So there is some credibility to the claim that I really did take a nap, or something of the like."

She nodded, "Yes, but there is no evidence to support that any other part of your story is even remotely plausible. Perhaps you faced a psychic and had your memories of yesterday altered."

Then, she looked like she had come up with an idea. "Roy, what outlaw were you chasing yesterday?"

I smirked, "A test? I love tests. It was a Cherrim."

She nodded, "And what happened after you caught it?"

"I brought it back in to the authorities, then events proceeded like I said I recalled."

She nodded, "Well... let's head back. The others were worried."

I readily agreed. I knew that if I told her what I really saw, I would never be able to get it out of my head. I followed her out through the dungeon, and we were transported home.

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

When Jade got back, Roy was right behind her, and he looked kind of troubled.

Vincent smirked, "What's the matter Roy? Jade chew you out about breaking the rules or something?"

Jade answered for him, "He was sleeping in Treeshroud Forest. Nothing more, nothing less. He had lost track of time due to the dense canopy of the forest."

I nodded and said, "Well, you're in luck, guys. World Abyss exploration to get the rock horn. Who wants to go?"

Nocturne raised his hand, and I pointed around, "Rose, Vincent, I want you two to go with him. And…" He scanned the recruits, "Mirage. You want to go?"

They all nodded, and I pointed out the location on their map. Vincent turned into a Ampharos and rubbed the red orb at the end of his tail. It started glowing, and he grabbed hold of the others, "Hold on."

He closed his eyes and they all vanished. Connor tilted his head, "When did he learn teleport?"

I shrugged, "Beats me. He's always learning new stuff." I turned back to the missions, "Jade, you and Alice have an outlaw in Mt. Avalanche. You up for it?"

They both nodded, and they left. Magnus and Atlas both leaned forward at the notion of a challenge letter, since we hadn't gotten one in a while. Caroline and Roy got a monster house outlaw mission. Connor and I decided to do a rescue mission together in tiny meadow. After everyone left, we followed suit.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

 _Thank Arceus for Vincent's Moves…_

Our badges provided a little bit of light in the inky darkness, allowing us to see a few feet ahead and above us. Vincent-Ampharos used flash after tripping over a vine growing along the ground, which let us see like it was daytime. I took the Lead, Vincent followed up, while Mirage and Rose took up the rear.

As we descended further into the dungeon, it started to get really creepy. The walls began glowing strange colors, with purple vines hanging down and moving in the still air, almost like they were alive. I used spiky shield to block a Mightyena's fire fang, then followed up with a drain punch, knocking it out.

Mirage spoke up, "Which legendary pokemon is at the end of this dungeon, do you think?"

Rose replied, "I don't have the foggiest idea. Vulcan's the one that knows the most about legendaries, and I doubt that even he'd know."

After a few more floors and a couple reviver seeds, we came to a room that was bright enough for Vincent to stop using flash.

 _This is weird…_

The walls glowed neon green, blue, and even purple, with multi-colored vines, and even the ground was dotted with glowing, orange stars.

A bright flash of light made me blink the spots out of my eyes, and when I got my senses back, a massive pokemon that matched the theme of the World Abyss almost too well towered in front of us.

"Seekers of the seven treasures! I am Giratina! The Guardian of the World Abyss! If it is the treasure that you seek… I challenge you to surpass your limits! Demonstrate your power to me!" He beat his wings, sending a weak ominous wind our way, "Now it begins!"

Mirage immediately took off straight for its face and used flamethrower. Giratina roared once and almost hit Mirage with its ghostly wing. When she pulled away, its skin looked barely charred. I turned back to Rose and Vincent, "Vince, you turn into something that can fly. Rose, use thunder wave, Dragon pulse and dragon breath when you can. We only have one reviver seed, so stay a safe distance away unless it's absolutely necessary to get up close and personal."

They nodded, and I ran forward, tossing seed bombs around Giratina's ankles. Mirage shouted, "Cover your ears!"

We all complied, and I felt the air rattle around me from boomburst. When I looked up, Giratina looked unfazed, and launched an ominous wind at Mirage.

 _How did that do nothing?!_

Giratina almost stomped on me, but I used spiky shield, sticking its foot with spines. It reared back, and I used dark pulse to knock it back into the wall. Rose followed up with a dragon tail, slamming it once more. It growled angrily, and Mirage used earth power, turning the ground beneath it into molten earth.

It sunk up to its ankles into the dirt, and the ground resolidified, rendering him unable to move. I saw a swarm of miniature combee fly forward and latch onto Giratina's neck. I turned, and Vincent was a Vespiquen now. He raised his hand, and the combee responded almost telepathically, now swarming Giratina's face, blinding it.

He shouted, although he sounded like a girl, "What are you waiting for?! Go!"

I used dark pulse, launching the black rings of energy at Giratina, and the Combee parted just long enough for the attack to hit its face. Giratina opened its mouth and used dragonbreath, incinerating the little bugs.

Vincent grunted, then turned into a Honchkrow. He flew forward and used night slash, and Rose followed up with a dragonbreath. I threw seed bombs at Giratina, disorienting it while Mirage used Dragon Rush, slamming straight into its chest. The force of the impact broke his feet free from the earth, and he roared once before stepping back and melting into shadows at the back of the room.

An orb of light appeared, and a grey box with a rocky texture appeared. I opened it, and Vince turned back into a smeargle as he walked forward.

I pulled out the plain-looking cone-shaped horn with rocks embedded in it, and Vincent raised an eyebrow, "It's not that good-looking for a rare item."

Mirage smiled, "Well, we got it! Let's head back!"

 **-Roy's POV-**

"Oh, lovely…"

It ended up that the outlaw in question had decided to set up a trap with a dozen ghost, Fire, Fighting and dark types. Caroline backed up and I looked around at the monster house in Treeshroud Forest. The outlaw was a Psychic type, or more specifically, a Grumpig.

I leaned towards Caroline, "What do you suggest we do?"

She raised a light screen and reflect barrier around us, then reached into her paint bag with a vine whip, pulling out a petrify orb, "We do this."

The threw down the orb, and all of the enemies in the room became flash-frozen. Caroline walked forward leisurely, and I floated above her. The Grumpig had a look of rage on its face, and I grinned, "Come on, Caroline…"

She sighed, "Nothing too violent."

I rolled my eyes, "Fiiiiine..." and readied nightmare while looking our outlaw in the eyes.

 _Apologies, Mr. Outlaw, but you're going to be scared of your own shadow for a long time._

 **-Atlas' POV-**

We were facing against a strange team that called themselves team Veros. They had a weird-colored Toxicroak, like a darkish blue color, a regular Skorupi, and a Haunter. Magnus was at a big disadvantage here. I guess we should've asked who the challengers were before we took this one.

Magnus launched a bullet seed at the haunter, but it melted into shadows and used shadow punch on me. None of my attacks could hit it aside from flamethrower and rock slide, but… _Oh…_

The Toxicroak was darting towards Magnus, who was preoccupied with the Haunter now, and I used flamethrower to cut it off. He retreated from the flames and glared at me, "You'll pay for that!"

The tone that he used when he said that made me raise an eyebrow. I readied another flamethrower, but he sped up and used sucker punch, hitting me in my gut. Then, the spike on his hand elongated and he stabbed my side. I felt the poison take hold, and I used focus energy to land some good hits on him. I readied cross chop as he raised his arm, and I knocked him back into a tree, then ate a pecha berry to filter the poison out.

Magnus used body slam on the Skorupi, who went down in one hit, and I was about to follow up on the Toxicroak with a dynamic punch, but at the last second, he vanished. I turned quickly, but he leapt onto my back and used poison jab repeatedly on my shoulders. I quickly twisted around and used submission, but I felt my blood dripping down my back as I slammed him into the ground. I grunted, "Okay… That's a bit excessive…"

It didn't poison me from what I felt, but before I could land another hit, he coughed up a mud bomb in my face. I stumbled backwards, now blinded, and he tripped me up with low sweep.

I heard Magnus over to my right, "You shadow-phasing lil' b***h! Stop being a f***in' pansy! For the love of Arceus, you're just like Roy!"

I couldn't see, but I knew that I had to face this toxicroak by myself. I used flamethrower to burn the mud off of my face and push the Toxicroak back, and I wiped the mud out of my eyes. I was still teary-eyed, so this would be a tough fight, but I've faced tougher. I know that much. This guy's just cheap shots and deception. If he wants to play rough, I can oblige.

I used bulk up, then I lit my fists ablaze. The Toxicroak yelped and dodged the punches, and tried to use counter, but I activated my own counter, so I hit him so hard that he was sent flying through the trees, and he collapsed to the ground after breaking several logs in two. Magnus was getting really annoyed with the Haunter, who kept using shadow ball from the ground or the trees. I used foresight, and he became solidified. Magnus used magical leaf, and the haunter growled weakly. He began glowing slightly, and Magnus rushed forward. Before I could say anything, the Haunter fainted after a Magical Leaf attack, and the glow faded. Magnus nodded, "Good f***in' riddance…"

Then, a purple smoke curled from the Haunter and into Magnus, and he fainted as well.

A reviver seed floated out of our bag and latched onto him, and I looked around. _That was really weird…_ I winced at the pain in my shoulders, "Fantastic…" Our badges glowed, and we were transported back to the crossroads.

 **-Connor's POV-**

After everyone got back from their respective missions, Vulcan and I called it a night. Tiny Meadow wasn't that big, but we ran into three monster houses, without any orbs. We barely made it through the third one.

Once I fell asleep, I opened my eyes and was surrounded by a rainbow mixture of colors. I looked around, confused, until I saw a shape materializing in front of me. I stepped back slightly, "Uh… Who are you?"

"I am… I am Cresselia."

I tilted my head, "Cresselia…?" I looked around at the rainbow lights, "Where am I?"

Cresselia continued, "Your… Your very existence is… pushing the world toward ruin."

I stepped back again, "The world… to ruin? How am I doing that?!"

"Because you are in this world…" There was a flash of light, "Because you… exist here. If you remain…" Another flash, "The world will be destroyed!"

There was a blinding flash of light, and I flew awake, standing up in my bed. After a few deep breaths, I gasped, "Wha…? What was that?"

I looked at Vulcan, who was still sound asleep, and I looked to the ground, " _Just a dream…? Sure was weird…_

I looked at the dark sky, dotted with stars, "Well, there's nothing I can do about it. It's not even dawn… I'll get more sleep."

* * *

 _ **I'm back from a week in Alaska. It was really stunning and beautiful. Back on topic, I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Go ahead and leave a quick review or PM if you did! Stay awesome my reader people, and I will see you in the next update!**_

 ** _-PL_**


	25. Breaking a Nightmare

**-Chapter 25: Breaking a Nightmare-**

 **-Jade's POV-**

After we met up the next morning, Alice was in a relatively good mood. Vulcan and Connor had given she and I an optional day off. She readily accepted, and I hesitated, but obliged after Connor said that I deserved it. I didn't believe it, but I did actually want a day off. Atlas' shoulders were heavily bandaged, and Magnus had a few bruises and burns on his skin, and when Alice and Caroline asked what happened, they told us about the whole fight.

Vulcan tapped his chin, "What was their team's name…?" He looked at the challenge letter, which he kept for a few days after the mission every time, "Team Veros…? Say, didn't Ursaring mention them right before we graduated?"

Connor shrugged, "I dunno..."

Vulcan folded up the letter, and said, "Regardless if they were really a group of outlaws, you guys still won.

Atlas nodded, and winced when he moved his arm to stand up. Connor said, "Atlas, you're on standby again. Won't do you much good with your shoulder muscles destroyed."

He groaned and his shoulders dropped, "Again…?"

I recalled that he had been put on standby three times during his time with this team, and Connor nodded, "Yep." He turned back to us, "Vulcan, will you hand out the missions?"

Vulcan nodded and reached into the mission letter bag, and pulled out a heap of missions for each of us. "Alright, we got a lot of missions, and they're all pretty big."

He turned to Roy, who had just floated in, "Roy."

Roy seemed startled when Vulcan called his name, "Hm! Yes?"

"We got a place from the special rank pokemon federation thing called sky stairway. You're up for recon."

He sighed, "Fiiiiiinne." He took the letter with psychic, read the letter, and it burst into flames after a moment. "...I'll be back by sunset. Don't worry." He winked and floated up through the ceiling.

"Magnus, you have an outlaw in Brine Cave." Magnus grabbed it, "Got it." He grabbed the letter and left as well.

Vulcan nodded, and turned back to the rest of us, "Alright… Caroline, you and Vince have three outlaws in Mystifying Forest."

Vincent picked up the missions, "Consider it done!"

He grabbed hold of Caroline, and they were teleported out.

"Noc, you and Mirage have two outlaws and two rescue missions in concealed ruins."

They both nodded and proceeded to leave.

Vulcan turned to me, "Jade, you and Alice have the day off to do whatever. You've been keeping up with your training, you had a big success on Mt. Avalanche, and there aren't any really good missions for you two."

Alice smiled and turned to me, "Alright!"

After Connor and Vulcan left, Alice turned to me, "Let's go talk to team Core!"

I raised an eyebrow, "Why the sudden interest? You've never sought them out before."

"Because I want to find out more about this pokemon mafia group that everyone's been talking about!"

I deadpanned, "The only ones in our team that actively talk about it are Vincent and Atlas."

She nodded, oblivious to my building rage, "And I want to know more about it!"

I shrugged, not finding it wise to show any anger in this situation, "Why not?"

I followed her up the stairs, and we went to Team Core's tent.

When Alice found them, she leaped up, "Guys! We wanted to talk to you!"

Maris tilted her head, "Oh? Come inside, dears!" She rapidly began picking up trash and miscellaneous things piled around, even moving the sleeping Gallade's arm back onto the bunk bed, "I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting guests…"

Alice smiled, "It's alright! You should see how big of slobs Atlas and Vincent are!"

Maris laughed, and asked, "So what did you come to talk to me about? I hope it's not about anything relating to time again!"

I tilted my head, "Connor and Vulcan came to you about that?"

She nodded, "Oh, I see… You're one of the newer recruits. Yes, they did. You'll find that your leaders do come to me or Briar (Primarily me) about things relating to knowledge of most subjects."

I tilted my head down, "We came to ask about this 'Pokemon mafia group' that Atlas and Vincent have been talking about recently."

Maris pursed her lips and glanced pointedly at me, "Oh. Them… Alright..."

 **-Roy's POV-**

 _Greeeat..._

A haunter used shadow punch from the wall, causing me to fall to the ground. I was surrounded by a Metang, Spiritomb, Rhydon, Raichu, Jumpluff and Gliscor on all sides. I did a quick circle, "Well, there certainly is a diverse group in this dungeon… I hope that you'll just let me go without bringing undue harm to the lot of you."

They continued glaring, and the Rhydon rushed forward. I phased through it and used magical leaf, bringing it down. The Raichu used thunderbolt, but the leaves formed a swirling shield in front of me, drawing away the electricity. I retaliated with power gem, and the Metang tried to grab hold of me with psychic. I used shadow ball to knock it back, then phased through the Gliscor's feint attack, retaliating with mystical fire. I swirled it around me to push my foes back, then tilted my hat, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but you're all much too hostile."

I sunk through the floor and continued my scouting mission. _Oh, boy… wait 'till sunshine hears about this one..._

 **-Connor's POV-**

It was a relatively boring day of training for Vulcan and I. We worked out at Marowak's Dojo for a little while, toughening ourselves up in the final maze, and just lounged around in the cafe. after the recruits got back and gave us the full report, we went to sleep. When I fell asleep, I found myself in the same rainbow dreamscape that I was in before.

Just like last time, Cresselia appeared in front of me.

"Cresselia… Please tell me more… about what you said last time. You said that my existence is driving the world towards ruin. What did you mean by that?"

"...You are a human that came from the future. You are not of this world. That is creating a distortion in the fabric of space."

 _Distortion… in the fabric of space?!_

"And if this distortion of space were to expand… This world would be ruined. You are… a presence that must not exist in this world!"

Her form started flickering, "You… must not… be here…"

I tried to reach out with my arm, "W-wait! Please, tell me more!"

Cresselia vanished, and the dream faded.

When I woke up the next morning, Vulcan was smiling, "Dude, look at this!" He turned to the mouth of the bluff, staring at the bright blue sky speckled with bright cotton-looking clouds, "It's a gorgeous day again."

I was too busy thinking about what Cresselia said to be looking at the weather. _It felt creepily real… Like, not even a dream. Cresselia said… She said that I can't exist in this world. She said if the distortion expands… Then… the world will be ruined._

My eyes widened, _The distortion of space! We heard that at luminous spring! I was told that I was somehow connected to that distortion. But that means… What I heard about my existence ruining the world… it might be true. Maybe just by existing here… I might cause the world's destruction. Is that-_

"Connor!"

I jumped, "Huh? What?"

Vulcan crossed his arms, "You're going into think mode again. What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "It's nothing. Just a bad dream." I turned to go up the stairs, but Vulcan stepped in front of me, "You're saying you had a dream, and you're going into think mode about it. Anytime you go into think mode, some crazy stuff happens. You're not leaving until you tell me what's got you going."

I sighed, "Well…" Vulcan gestured to our beds, and we both sat down, "The past couple nights, I've been getting these freaky dreams, and to be honest, they're kind of scaring me. A pokemon named Cresselia keeps trying to tell me that I don't exist in this world, and that I'm causing a distortion in the fabric of space that's leading the world to ruin. She said that since I'm a human from the future, I-"

"That's enough of that. I don't buy it for one second." I raised an eyebrow, and he waved his hand, "Not you. I believe you. It's what Cresselia said. She's been in my dreams too. She said that since I travelled to the future and came back, that my existence is breaking space or whatever. When I asked for specifics, she got real dodgy real quick. I don't buy that I don't belong here. I was born in this world, and time travel is different than dimensional travel. Maris told me all about the specifics right after the Luminous Spring telling us why we couldn't evolve."

I tilted my head, "But I'm a-"

"Human, ghost, pokemon, it doesn't matter! I don't buy that you and I don't belong in this world. What does this Cresselia know about us? Even if we were causing some trouble in the world, we'd find another way to fix it. We were told that we couldn't save the world and both live to tell the tale, but we did. Maybe not right away, but everything that's happened so far seems to tell me that we're meant to be here. I'm not going to let some random pokemon in my dreams tell me that our existence isn't allowed in this world without some solid evidence. We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, okay?"

"What if the bridge is burned?"

He smiled, "Then we build a new one. Besides, burning stuff is my job."

I nodded after I thought it over, "Thanks, Vulcan…"

Suddenly, a new voice appeared, "Hold on! Hold up!" We turned, and Bidoof was panting in front of us, "Thank goodness I caught you… Reckoned y'all were ready to head out for the day… Huff-puff…"

I tilted my head, "What's wrong, Bidoof?"

Bidoof jumped up, "There's trouble afoot! L-little Azurill… the little Azurill's in trouble!"

Vulcan's tail flared up, "What?!"

Bidoof nodded, "They've brought the little feller to the guild!"

I gasped, "Let's go, then!"

We ran to the Guild, and I saw Atlas, Vincent and Roy at the crossroads. When we went into the guild, Azurill was asleep in our old room, with everyone in the guild, including deputy magnemite and Marill, gathered around.

When we came in, Vulcan asked, "Alright, what happened? Is Azurill alright?"

Sunflora turned, "There doesn't seem to be any danger to his life, but…"

"But…? But what?" Vulcan kept glancing back and forth from Azurill to everyone else.

"...He's been sleeping and sleeping and sleeping… But he won't wake up."

Vulcan gawked, "He won't?!"

Marill nodded, "Yes… I tried waking him up over and over, but he's still asleep. I got worried, so I brought him to the guild."

"Clearly none of you know wake-up slap." Atlas walked in behind us, "You want me to give it a go? It shouldn't hurt too bad."

I shook my head, "No. We aren't trying to kill the kid."

Azurill mumbled and tossed in his sleep, and Vulcan murmured, "Looks like he's having a nightmare…"

Marill sniffed, "He's been like that the entire time he's been asleep. It's like he's suffering."

Atlas shrugged, "Seems like he's hurting pretty bad already."

Vulcan looked at Chatot, "Is there a cure for this?"

Chatot sighed, "...Unfortunately, I'm fresh out of ideas too. To be locked in a nightmare… Unable to wake for days on end… I've never heard of such a thing."

Vulcan crossed his arms, and Chimecho said, "Since he's asleep, we can't feed him berries or seeds. We're at our wits end trying to come up with the cure."

Corphish mumbled, "Who'd know how to get rid of a nightmare, hey, hey, hey…?"

"Ooooh, did somebody say 'nightmare?'" A new voice said. "I might be able to help."

Roy floated through the window, and I gasped, "Roy! What're you doing here?"

"I saw you and Vulcan running up to the Guild. Same with Vincent and Atlas. Vincent went to go hang out with Rose, and he and I decided to come see what all the commotion was about. Ends up that I might be able to help dispel this nightmare."

He floated over Azurill, "If I can put my own nightmare over the one currently present, it should be replaced by my own, and I can wake up your little friend. With your permission, of course." He looked to Marill.

Marill nodded, and he closed his eyes and began humming eerily. He stayed still for a moment before his eyes opened and started to glow.

"Roy?"

"GAH!" He was blown backwards through the wall, then phased back in, trembling from exhaustion. Vulcan helped him up, "Roy, what happened?"

He took a deep breath, "Whatever put your friend into that nightmare… It is powerful. It's so twisted and malevolent… It almost overtook me… If I hadn't pulled away when I did, I might have been trapped as well."

Vulcan nodded, "Thanks for trying."

He nodded, "Well, I'll go have a purple gummi smoothie. That gave me a headache..."

He phased through the wall and I sighed, "Back to square one."

"Uh…" Bidoof murmured, "Um… Everyone, can I say something?"

Everyone turned and Loudred asked, "What is it, Bidoof?"

Bidoof said, "I got to thinking… Since we can't make the nightmare go away, if we somehow figure out what kind of nightmare he's having… Maybe we can figure out why that little Azurill won't wake up, by golly."

Loudred's eyes widened, "Oh! RIGHT! So we should look into Azurill's dream!" Then he leaned forward, shouting, "HOW do we do THAT?! Look inside a DREAM?!"

Bidoof cringed, "Yikes! Gosh, I'm sorry!"

"...Actually, that might be possible."

Everyone turned to Chatot, "WHAT?!"

"Hey, hey! How do you do that?"

"We need to find Drowzee. If anyone can do it, he can."

I shifted uncomfortably, _Drowzee… Oh! That's the first outlaw Vulcan and I caught!_

Vulcan gritted his teeth, "Are you sure there's no other way, Chatot? I mean, Vincent can turn into a Drowzee-"

"If there is even a sliver of truth to what I've heard, it will have to be Drowzee, since he was born a Drowzee."

I pressed for him to go on, and he continued, "This is just a rumor, mind you… But it is said that Drowzee has the ability to enter others' dreams, unlike your recruit, who can create and control them from the outside."

I tilted my head, "You mean he can physically enter a dream?"

Chatot shook his head, "It's strictly rumor. I couldn't vouch for its truth. However, the possibility exists."

Vulcan growled, "Alright… Where's Drowzee now?"

Deputy Magnemite replied, *Zzzt! Drowzee was subjected to intense grilling by officer Magnezone. Zzzt! He expressed remorse. He vowed never to break the law again. Zzzt! So we released him. Zzzt!*

Corphish said, "Hey, hey! But did he really straighten out, hey? Sounds really sketchy, hey, hey!"

"Corphish," Sunflora scolded him, "Now is not the time to be quibbling over that." She turned to Magnemite, "Where is Drowzee?"

*Zzzt! He has gone away to cleanse his mind and spirit. Zzzt! He stated that he would study self-discipline on Mt. Travail. Zzzt!"

Chimecho said, "Mt. Travail? That would be in the great mountain range…" She opened up her map and pointed to a mountain with several plateaus on it.

Vulcan marked it on his map, and folded it up, "Let's get going, Connor."

I turned to Marill, "We'll get your brother to wake up. Don't worry about it."

Marill started tearing up, "You always, always help us… Thank you… So much."

I smiled, "Don't mention it."

Vulcan called back, "Let's go! We need to move, ASAP!"

Wigglytuff nodded, "It's decided then! We'll leave this mission to team Firestorm! Everyone is worried about Azurill, but let Team Firestorm handle it! Everyone, we will carry on as usual!"

Vulcan and I left, and once we were at the entrance to the guild, Vulcan was trembling again.

"Hey, man… I'll go with Roy or Jade to get Drowzee. You don't have to come with me."

He shook his head, "No… Drowzee will be super careful after you dropped a cliff on him last time. If we go with anyone that he doesn't know, he might run. And that would be bad."

I nodded, "Alright."

We told the recruits the plan, and after we assigned them all missions for the day, we went off to Mt. Travail, in search of the outlaw that could break the nightmare.

* * *

 **Okay, I know that the game doesn't go like that after Cresselia's nightmare things, but I think that Vulcan is smarter than that, and that he'd tell Connor about it right away rather than keeping it a secret. That being said, I hope you enjoyed! Go ahead and leave a quick Review or PM if you did, and I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	26. Finding the Dream Doctor

**-Chapter 26: Finding the Dream Doctor-**

 **-Jade's POV-**

After Vulcan had assigned us our missions, I looked at my teammates, discerning who would join me on this exploration. "...Vincent…"

He nodded, and I looked around further, "Mirage."

She grinned, and I sighed, "And Roy…"

He smirked, "Oh, try not to sound so disappointed, sunshine! I'll do my best to get this sky melodica thing that's at the end of this dungeon."

I nodded, and Mirage smiled, "Let's go!"

"I have to assign the rest of the missions." I fanned through them, "I have a challenge letter-"

"I'll take it." Atlas and Magnus both said at the same time.

Atlas said, "You got the last one!"

"Well you get to go on more f***in' missions!" Magnus countered.

"Ever wonder why, hothead?!"

I waved my arm, "Perhaps you should both go. It is a Mandibuzz, after all. You're both at a half-disadvantage, and it would be wise to send you together."

I turned to Alice, "Alice, you, Caroline and Rose are facing two outlaws. One has minions, the other is supposed to run away." They nodded and took up the missions. I faced Nocturne, "You have a solo escort mission. A Torterra has found a secret slab in a golden chamber, but he needs somebody to guide him back to it."

"Consider it done."

I turned to my exploration party, "Now, let's get down to exploring."

 **-Caroline's POV-**

We made it to Miracle Sea after Jade finished handing out the missions. Rose swam beside us as Alice sat on my back. I waded through the knee-deep water, using vine whip and magical leaf when any water types decided to show their faces. A Cloyster leapt out of the water and used Ice Beam, but Alice used baton pass to swap all of our positions, lining up the Cloyster to its own attack while moving us out of harms' way.

The Cloyster froze from its own ice beam, and I swam back to the path, sputtering, "Blech. Saltwater is so nasty…" Alice giggled, and I hit her jokingly with a vine whip. Rose used wrap on a Kingdra, then dragon breath, knocking it out, and called back, "Come on, slowpokes! We've got an outlaw to face!"

Alice smiled, "Let's get going!" She leapt off of my back and waded through the water, forcing me to push myself to keep up.

 **-Mirage's POV-**

"Roy, you never said that this dungeon had Ditto!" Jade shouted as she dodged a Ditto that morphed into me.

He snapped back while fighting off a Gliscor, "Well, how was I supposed to know? They look like whatever they transform into!"

I was facing a Ditto who had transformed into a replica of Jade, and it shot an ice beam at me. I dodged and tried to retaliate, but I kept hesitating. _It's not jade… Just hit it with a flamethrower…_

I opened my mouth, but it sunk into the ground before I could fire the attack. I looked around, but it appeared beneath me and shot a frost breath straight up, freezing me solid.

 **-Vincent's POV-**

 _Oh, for Arceus' sake…_ I launched a sleep seed bomb at the Ditto, and it collapsed to the ground. I sliced it in two with a paint sword and I'll admit, doing that to what looked just like jade made me uncomfortable.

Mirage was still frozen, and a Steelix rounded the corner, "Roy, we're gonna need that mystical fire right about now!"

"I thought you could use any move I could, mr. do-it-all!"

"I can only sketch so many moves, and until I level up some more, I'm all out!"

"Fiiiiiiiine."

I saw fire shoot from the walls, envelop Mirage, then shoot towards the Steelix, who retreated back down the corridor.

Mirage coughed and sputtered as the ice melted from around her, and when I asked if she was alright, she sarcastically replied, "Never better…"

I pulled out my wonder map of the dungeon, and I did a face-palm, "We're not even on the seventh floor yet, and we're already struggling!"

Jade froze a Gliscor, then used shadow ball on a misdreavus. I saw a slight smile creep across her face when she hit the Misdreavus, and Roy called out from the walls, "You _really_ despise me that much?"

She was silent in reply, and I chuckled while Mirage used dragon tail on a Magneton, then stone edge on a Togekiss.

A Probopass used magnet bomb on me, and I threw up a protect barrier. The barrage of metal bounced harmlessly off of the shield, and Mirage flew forward and used power-up punch, knocking it out after a barrage of punches.

Suddenly, we were all warped to the next floor, and Roy smiled, "I just want to get out of here. This cloudy weather is too much for my poor soul to handle. Even though I do like the low visibility."

I laughed and said, "Whatever…"

We ended up using four reviver seeds on our way to the top, along with most of our oran berries, and when we reached the top, Mirage looked around, "Which guardian is guarding this, d'you think?"

I shrugged, "Probably a flying-type legendary."

Mirage nodded, and suddenly, a bright flash of light disoriented us all. When it cleared, a _giant_ green serpentine pokemon with yellow symbols running down its sides was coiled up in front of us, "Seekers of the seven Treasures! I am Rayquaza! Guardian of Sky Stairway!" Another flash of light, "If it's the treasure you seek… I challenge you to surpass your limits! Tame the sky and overcome the raging winds! Demonstrate your power to me! Now it begins!"

 **-Jade's POV-**

I drew upon all of the knowledge that I knew of this pokemon. It was a flying and dragon-type, making me the most potent attacker on the team at the moment… Ground-types wouldn't do anything. Then again, we're in the sky. I'm surprised even stone edge worked in the clouds.

I turned to Vincent and Roy, "Roy, Vincent, hypnotize him or something to buy us time!"

Vincent winked, "Got you covered!" He loaded a seed into his paint arm cannon, and when it hit Rayquaza, it was frozen in place.

I nodded, "Roy, prepare nightmare!"

He giggled, "This is going to be fun…"

"Mirage, prepare dragon pulse. Vincent, use the hardest-hitting move you have to start off."

He nodded, "We all ready?"

We lined up all around Rayquaza, and I shouted, "Go!"

Vince was coated in a rainbow swirl of paint, and he turned into a Golurk and grappled Rayquaza's head, slamming it into the ground with giga impact. Roy tried to lock eyes with the serpent, but it kept its eyes closed, making Roy unable to hypnotize it. Rayquaza flailed and used its tail to send Vincent flying off, then it dove into the cloudy floor. Roy sunk into the floor, "One moment…"

Rayquaza came out of the wall a moment later, and I used frost breath. It twirled to the side, and Mirage nailed it with dragon pulse. It winced and bellowed dragon pulse, and I shot an ice beam at it. It contorted its body to dodge, and Vincent was suddenly on top of Rayquaza's head as a budew.

Rayquaza didn't even notice that he was on its head, and before I could comprehend what Vincent was doing, he transformed into a Snorlax, sending rayquaza's head crashing to the ground. It flailed to get up, but Vincent's crushing weight on its head made its efforts futile. I used ice beam while Vincent had it down, Mirage used dragon pulse, and Roy used power gem from the wall.

Vincent teleported off and reappeared next to us as a Smeargle. Rayquaza dove into the clouds, and was gone. A small flash of light, and a small box that seemed to be made of clouds appeared. inside was a medium-sized light purple keyboard with silver metal wings decorating both sides.

Vincent picked it up, "This looks more like 'super rare treasure'," and I tossed down an escape orb.

 **-Connor's POV-**

After we got to Mt. Travail, Vulcan and I didn't waste time talking. We went straight up and started hiking through the dungeon. I floated us up any steep cliff sides by using ancient power (Call it cheating, but it made the trip a lot easier.)

That being said, it still took forever, and for stupid reasons. For one, we ran out of food early due to a grimy trap, so we had to forage for a little while to make sure we didn't faint from hunger. We lost two reviver seeds in a monster house, since we ran out of orbs and an Ursaring and Ledian had me pinned while two Primeape, a Medicham and a Marowak ganged up on Vulcan. We only made it through because I used blizzard, knocking out almost all of the enemies in one hit, and freezing the others. We didn't even bother EXP farming the frozen enemies, instead we just went straight to the stairs. A Fearow plucked two oran berries and a Sitrus berry I had been saving for when my HP got full a couple floors later, but I knocked it out with Ancient power after a few misses.

When we finally reached the top, we saw Drowzee meditating on a section of raised stone, overlooking the mountain range.

Vulcan called out, "Drowzee."

He straightened up, then turned around. At the sight of us, he winced, "Wa-wah! You two?! What did you come here for?!" He started backing away, "I… I've kept my nose clean! I've stayed out of a life of crime!"

I nodded, "Calm down, Drowzee. We're not here to arrest you or anything. In fact, we're here because we need your help."

He stopped backing away, "H-huh? Me? You need my help?"

I nodded, "That's what I said. You remember Azurill, right?"

He nodded, "That little tyke…"

"Well, he's in some kind of unending nightmare."

Drowzee gasped, and Vulcan continued, "Nobody knows why he won't wake up. One of our teammates tried to get rid of it, but no luck. Bidoof came up with this idea of going into the dream to figure out what's going on. And we heard that you might be able to help."

Drowzee stared at us silently, and I said, "Drowzee, will you help us please?"

He stared some more before turning away, looking over the mountain range, "I… I… Did a rotten thing to that Azurill way back when… I don't know if this will ever make up for it, but… If it would help Azurill even a little…"

He turned back to us, "I don't know how useful I can be, but… I'll be glad to help, if you'll let me."

I smiled, "Thank you, Drowzee!"

He nodded, "Lead me back to Azurill. Let's not waste time!"

Vulcan pulled out his last escape orb, "No time to walk."

He threw it down, and we were transported back to Treasure Town.

 **-Atlas' POV-**

"Alright… Who are you two?"

A Krookodile and a Gigalith were standing in front of us, and Magnus smirked, "You chose the wrong time to challenge our team."

The Gigalith said nothing, and the Krookodile bowed mockingly, "Shall we begin, or would you like to chat some more?"

Magnus growled and flew forward. The Gigalith's eyes glowed, and stones burst from the ground and clamped down on Magnus, crushing him. I heard his sputtering and cursing from inside the rock tomb, and I eyed them warily, now that Magnus was down. Or so I thought.

The Krookodile smiled maliciously until a beam of light shattered the rock tomb and hit him square in the chest, knocking him into the wall. Magnus' skin was cut and bruised, and the banana-looking fruit on his chin was crushed, and he swatted them off with a vine whip, "Okay… That was my favorite f***in' fruits!" He flew forward so fast that I couldn't even follow him with my eyes. The Gigalith was heaved off of the ground with a leaf tornado, then slammed with a vine whip back into the ground. The Krookodile tried to sneak up on him, but I ran forward to intercept. I started to swing down, but Magnus stopped my hand with a Vine whip, "No! These f***in' morons are mine!"

He slapped the Krookodile with another vine whip. The Gigalith tried to get up, but Magnus slammed it into the wall with a Whirlwind. The Krookodile glared at him while he singlehandedly owned both of them, "How in the blazes did you do that?!"

"F*** you, that's how." Then the Krookodile slumped over and passed out. Magnus finished off the Gigalith, then paused for a moment before turning back to me. I stared at him, jaw hanging open, and he snorted, "What, you didn't think I could take 'em?"

 **-Connor's POV-**

After we got back to Treasure Town, we lead Drowzee to where Azurill was. He looked at Azurill for a long time. After what felt like an eternity, I spoke up, "So how's it lookin'? Can we get in the dream?"

Drowzee nodded, "I want you two to get stocked up for an exploration. When you're all ready, I will send you on an exploration of Azurill's dream."

Vulcan's jaw dropped, "So… That means…"

"You guessed it. It is possible to get into Azurill's dream."

I smiled, "Alright!" I turned to Marill, "We can get into this nightmare and fix it!"

Marill smiled, "Yes!"

Drowzee frowned, "Something… About this kid's dream…"

He turned to us, "I want you to be extra careful in there. There's something rotten about this kid's nightmare. It's not natural. I've got a feeling that something's gone bad… Or gone wrong."

Vulcan nodded, "Alrighty. We'll be extra careful." Drowzee nodded and turned back to face Azurill.

Right before we left, Drowzee spoke up without turning around, "One more thing… I only want you two to enter the dream. I'd prefer to go as well, but in all honesty… At my skill level, I'd only slow you down. I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help-"

"Don't be like that. You're doing plenty by just giving us a way into the dream. We're going to go get ready."

We made a quick trip to Kangaskhan storage to stock up. Mt. Travail really depleted our oran berry and reviver seed supply. After a brief report on today's missions from Jade, we went back to Drowzee.

When we got there, he said, "You two ready?"

I nodded, "Yup."

"Good." There were two more beds set up, "Get over here. I'm going to send you in."

I nodded, "So how exactly does this whole 'dream body' thing work?"

"You two will enter a trance-like state, and a 'dream body' of sorts will be created, sort of like an astral projection, and sent into the dream. You'll still retain the same strength and moves, but be careful. You can still get hurt."

Vulcan and I nodded, and he began moving his hands in front of us, "Here goes…"

I felt my eyes grow heavy, and the last thing I saw was a purple tunnel.

* * *

 **Alrighty then. The Nightmare is going to be a whole 'nother chapter, that's why I split it up. And I normally don't do this, but I just heard about Nintendo President Sitoru Iwata, and I just wanted to give him serious cudos for making many peoples' childhoods that much sweeter. He'll be dearly missed by me and by many others. R.I.P.**

 **-PL**


	27. Welcome to the Nightmare

**-Chapter 27: Welcome to the Nightmare-**

 **-Victor's POV-**

"For Arceus' sake, can none of you capture any of their team members for interrogation?!"

I stared at a handful of my underlings, "I mean, seriously! I've sent all of you, and the same two pokemon- a Tropius and Machoke- beat all of you!"

They stayed silent, wisely not looking at me, "I am so utterly disappointed in all of you! I've had to pay over 12,000 poke from your losses!"

"M-master Victor, I-"

"Silence, Talis! I'm especially disappointed in you! Your entire team had an advantage! You had numbers, as well as typing to work with! I don't want to hear anything from your team for a while."

"Y-yes, sir."

"And for you, Vitreus… While you may have had a slight disadvantage, it is still unacceptable for you to lose to a flying type! And you were aided by Zorro!"

"Y-yes, sir. It will not happen again."

"It had better not."

 **-Connor's POV-**

Azurill's nightmare was pretty dull. Dark blue everywhere. Although… The pokemon here were almost all bright pink or purple. Kind of ironic for such a dark atmosphere. In fact, any pokemon here surprised me. Vulcan and I didn't see anything that might have caused this while we were exploring, but when a miltank turned the corner and charged at us, it caught us off guard. I knocked it into a ravine with ancient power, and after Vulcan and I ran over, I realized what had happened. "Oh…"

Vulcan took out a gravelrock and dropped it into the ravine. We both perked our ears, but we never heard it hit the bottom. Vulcan whistled, "Let's try not to fall down that…"

I nodded, "Agreed."

As we went on, we hit a monster house, but Vulcan just threw down a petrify orb and we picked them off one by one. After a long while further down, we came to more ravines, this time all around us. I was alright, since I could just catch us with Ancient Power if we did fall, but I wasn't about to risk it not working or something.

After a little bit more travelling, we came to a long, wide corridor. Vulcan leaned forward, "Looks like this is the end…"

We stepped forward, and the area blacked out completely. Vulcan scooted back close to me, and I heaved half the ground out from around us on all sides with Ancient Power, "Who's there?!"

A voice came from up ahead, "...You… How did… How did you get here?"

I shouted, "None of your business! Show yourself, before I make you!"

The female voice laughed gently, "Foresight won't work on me, Connor."

I shifted uncomfortably. _How does she know my name…?_

"...I am…" A flash of light disoriented us for a moment, then a familiar shape appeared, "I… am Cresselia!"

 _C-Cresselia?!_

Vulcan's arms burst into flames, and Cresselia smiled, "I cannot fathom how you've come here… But I find your visit ever so convenient! I've longed to meet the both of you!"

Vulcan's flames died down slightly, "And you were in our dreams because…?"

"What I told you in your dreams was true…" She said. "You two are not supposed to exist in this world."

Vulcan's flames flared back up, "That's a pretty big thing to accuse somebody of, Cresselia. I don't want to be left in the dark. If our existence is really threatening the world, I want reasons why. And not bad ones."

"...If the distortion in the fabric of space expands, the power of darkness will expand as well. Eventually… The world will become enveloped within a nightmare."

Vulcan growled, "Why can't you mystery pokemon ever give straight answers? Why're you always giving half-answers to keep everybody guessing?"

Cresselia leveled an unamused look at him, "Do you know where we are at this moment?"

I answered, "We're in Azurill's' dream, aren't we?"

Cresselia nodded, "That is correct. More precisely, we are in Azurill's nightmare. Azurill will remain trapped by the nightmare… never to awaken again. This nightmare will eventually creep across the world. For now, only Azurill is afflicted with this nightmare. But soon, other pokemon will be drawn in by the nightmare's widening web. More and more pokemon will fall into an unending sleep. And, ultimately, all Pokemon will be locked in this nightmare without end."

My jaw dropped. _All pokemon?!_

Vulcan tilted his head as the flames in his hands died down, and cautiously asked, "What will it take to get rid of the distortion…?"

"There is one way to eliminate the distortion…" Cresselia answered, "And that is… For you to disappear!"

"What?!" Vulcan shouted.

Cresselia advanced, unphased by our shock, "I've been waiting for this opportunity…" She loomed closer, "The opportunity to make you disappear!"

I heaved the earth up from around us with Ancient Power, "Give us one good reason as to how you are absolutely positive we're the ones causing this!"

"So you would rather see all pokemon swallowed up by the nightmare?" Cresselia asked, "Connor is a human from the future, and Vulcan, you went to the future with him and came back! Your very existence is driving the world to ruin! The only way to save the world is to eliminate the both of you."

She advanced closer, and I got ready to crush her as she continued, "I'm sorry, but I must do this! Prepare to-"

"Heeeeey!"

All three of us paused as Drowzee's voice echoed around, "Connor? Vulcan? Where are you?"

Cresselia growled, "Gah! Interrupted! And my work here was nearly finished!"

She started backing away, "I was interrupted this time… But I will see to it that you two disappear! Of course… If you wish to save the world on your own… You should consider making yourselves disappear first. Farewell."

She vanished, and I let out the breath I had been holding, "Th-that was close…"

"You're telling me…" Vulcan sighed.

"Ah! There you are!" We turned around to see Drowzee walk up behind us.

I tilted my head, "Drowzee? Why are you here?"

"You two were taking so long to come back, I got worried. I decided to be brave and come in after you." He looked around, "There's something dangerous about this place. We shouldn't stay here." He turned to us, "Let's head back to the Guild for the time being."

A purple tunnel appeared, and our eyes shot open in the real world.

After the guild gathered around, Vulcan and I explained what we found out about the nightmare and the distortion of space.

"...I see." Chatot said, "So you encountered Cresselia… And she said that Azurill's nightmare is being caused by a distortion in the fabric of space."

Vulcan nodded, "Yeah…"

"And if nothing is done about it… All pokemon will join Azurill in unending sleep… That's what Cresselia said?"

I nodded, in spite of not wanting to, "Yes…"

Chatot nodded, "If that's all true… Then this is terrible trouble, to be sure! We've got to do something!"

I nodded, "So, Chatot, what do you know about Cresselia?"

Chatot crossed his wings, thinking, "I know of the pokemon, but only from rumors. It's said that Cresselia appears only during the night of the quarter moon. It's also said that she can heal others' emotional scars simply with the gentle light from her body."

 _She didn't seem that nice to me…_

"There is one more thing about Cresselia," Chatot continued, "It is said that she possesses a mystical power that can banish darkness."

"Hey, hey, hey! Let me get this straight! If we don't do something… All the pokemon in the world are going to fall asleep forever? Hey, hey! That means we have to do something now to fix the space distortion!"

Drowzee turned to Vulcan, "Vulcan, did Cresselia mention anything about... how to stop the distortion?"

I panicked slightly, but Vulcan shook his head, "No… She didn't tell us anything about how to fix it."

Drowzee nodded, "Ah… That is unfortunate."

"Well, anyway!" Wigglytuff chimed in, "Let's look into the distortion of space together! If we don't, we won't be able to stop the nightmare from spreading!"He turned to Chatot, "Chatot!"

"Y-yes, Guildmaster!" Chatot turned to address everyone in the room, "All right, everyone! We'll disband for the day! And starting tomorrow, you are to individually investigate the distortion of space itself!"

"Yup yup! Will do!" Bidoof smiled.

"Alright, dismissed!" Chatot called out.

We went to Spinda's Cafe and got an update from Jade, saying that Atlas went to train in the Final Maze with Vincent. After that, it was almost sunset, so Vulcan and I went to Sharpedo Bluff to call it a night.

When we laid down, Vulcan sighed, "Something doesn't add up, Connor."

I rolled over to face him, "What d'you mean?"

"Cresselia was waaay too dodgy with her answers. She said that the distortion of space was caused by us, since you were from the future, and I went there and came back. But that's related to Time. I've never heard of Time Travelling causing a distortion in space, so that's a big red flag."

I nodded, "I remember Luminous Spring saying something about the distortion of space…"

"Yeah, but nothing about it causing the end of the world. Right now, one of two things explain Cresselia's actions. Either somebody else is feeding her bad information, or she's out to get us for some reason. It isn't for sure that you and I disappearing will solve anything, so we'll have to look further into it before we make any decisions."

I nodded, "We could always talk to Maris about it. She's like an encyclopedia of cosmic and temporal myths, legends, everything."

Vulcan nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

I rolled over and sighed, "Well, no point in losing sleep over this. We've got a full day ahead of us tomorrow."

He nodded, "Goodnight, Connor."

* * *

 _ **Kind of a short Chapter, I apologize. That was the Nightmare! Dun dun duuuunnn! Go ahead and leave a quick review or PM if you enjoyed or have any questions, comments or concerns, and I will see you guys in the next update! Much Love!**_

 _ **-PL**_


	28. Seeking Spatial Guidance

**-Chapter 28: Seeking Spatial Guidance-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

"The distortion of space, you said? Hold on, I think I have something…" The Delcatty sifted through the wall-to-wall bookshelves filled to the brim with books. She paused, then muttered an inaudible curse, "Of all the times-!" She turned back to us after more cursing, "...I don't have anything on space or its distortions, unfortunately…"

I nodded, "I see… That's too bad."

She smiled, "But I do have this…" She opened up one of the books to my right, and a large, maroon and white dragon with giant gems on its shoulders was on the page. She smiled, "This book tells you all about Palkia, the son of Arceus that oversees all of space."

 _Palkia… Closely related to Dialga. This being can distort space itself. It is said to reside in spacial rift._

Vulcan picked it up, "So if we meet Palkia, we can find out more about the spacial distortions?"

Maris tilted her head, " _Meet_ Palkia? I'm sorry, but I don't think that's possible… I mean, I know you met Dialga, but Spacial Rift… There's no legends, stories, or even rumors of how to get there. And as the name implies, it's a crack in space itself. Unless you're Palkia, you're not getting there."

I nodded and turned to Vulcan, "Maybe we could ask Lapras if she knows anything?"

"I don't think that space is Lapras' thing. She said that she's a _Temporal_ Guardian, not a Spatial Guardian. Besides, I don't even know if we can call her again, since my relic fragment's still in the rainbow stoneship."

Maris frowned slightly, "I'm sorry that I wasn't able to do much for you two…"

I smiled, "It's alright! We're going to need all the help we can get."

Vulcan nodded silently as we left, and I tapped him with my head fin, "Hey, what's up? You're going into think mode. That's sort of my thing."

He smiled for a moment before he shook his head,"It's nothing… I just forgot about Palkia… And I have a bad feeling."

"About what?"

"Since Cresselia couldn't get rid of us herself, she might go straight to Palkia about it."

"But we didn't do anything!"

"I know… But I don't think that Palkia will know that. And if Cresselia tells him that we're to blame… Then he'll be all over us before we even know what happened."

"..."

"It'll probably never happen, though. Cresselia can't get to Spatial Rift anyways. Maris said it herself, you can't get there outside of Palkia."

"Do you think entering dreams in another dimension is possible?" I was legitimately curious about that.

"Heck if I know. Dreams are Roy's and Drowzee's thing."

We came to the crossroads, and Vulcan said, "...So... you wanna just train today?"

I nodded, "Yeah… Let's do that."

 **-Roy's POV-**

Vulcan and Connor gave us all our missions. I was on Recon for yet another 'secret rank' dungeon, which was a place called Shimmer Desert. Supposedly it was where another 'special instrument' called the Terra Cymbal resided.

Alice and Mirage got an escort mission on Mt. Travail. Sunshine and Nocturne both got an item fetching mission on top of three outlaws in Miracle Sea. Atlas was on standby after he tore open the wound on his shoulder while training. Rose got a solo rescue mission in Brine Cave.

Vincent and Caroline were exploring a place called Mt. Mistral, while Magnus got a solo outlaw mission in Sky Stairway. He lumbered out of the cafe and took to the sky. I whistled, then looked into the middle distance as a strange thought popped up, "Huh. You know… How did we get there the first time?"

"The four of us that retrieved the sky melodica could all fly," Jade replied.

"Ah. That makes sense… Why had I not thought of that?"

Vulcan clasped his hands together, "Alright, team! You've got your assignments! Let's make today a great success!"

I glanced around, and everyone had already begun pairing up. Rose and Nocturne both came up to me and smiled, "Good luck, guys!" Rose said.

"To you as well," Noc replied.

I contemplated a new, rising thought as Connor and Vulcan left, "Who do you think would win in a spar between Connor and Vulcan?"

Noc placed a hand on his chin, "Huh… You know, I don't really know."

I turned to him, "Well, from what I've observed whenever they decide to brawl in the-"

"A hundred Poké goes on Connor." We both turned to Rose, and I raised an eyebrow, "I never took you for the betting type, young lady! Hahaha!"

She smiled mischieviously, "Looks can be deceiving, Roy. You know that."

I nodded and grinned, "I do, don't I… But since you're going for Connor, and I like being contrary, I'll say Vulcan."

I looked to Noc pointedly, and he said, "I honestly don't know. Connor has the type advantage and brute toughness, but Vulcan's resourceful, and he knows all of Connor's tricks and moves. It'd be a close match. But… Connor."

I smiled, "Great, now I'm curious… Thanks for distracting me from my mission, guys!"

Rose smiled slightly, "Shut it, Roy."

I leveled an amused glance at her, "Oh, don't be like that… It's mission time!"

I floated through the ceiling and drifted towards this new dungeon's location.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

"So, uh, Jade…"

She floated next to me, and didn't divert her gaze, "Yes…?"

"...Um…"

She smiled slightly without turning back, "You wish to engage in conversation with me." It wasn't really a question. It was like she could tell what I was thinking.

I shook my head, "Naw, it's just… Silence… I don't really like it. Kind of ironic, since I was the silent one before evolving."

She turned her head, "So… You are interested in... making small talk?"

"No, I despise small talk. I don't want to know 'what's up'. I want to hear about your childhood and your favorite things and what makes you laugh and what keeps you up at night and your fears and insecurities… "

"..."

Her eyes shifted towards me for a short moment, her smile fading, and I waved my arms slightly, "Not just… yours… specifically... But with everyone! We're… uh... supposed to be able to tell each other stuff like that, and I feel like it would promote a sense of trust among the team."

She stared at me silently, and I laughed nervously, "...You're not exactly the easiest to talk to about these sort of things."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're so… Regal, and literal with everything, and you don't tend to show a lot of emotion, which makes you… not very approachable."

"Regal?"

"Yeah. Vincent calls you Ice Queen sometimes."

She turned further towards me, almost floating backwards, "Oh, does he...?"

I nodded, "Yeah. You've got a regal aura about you. Like, you're a natural at staying calm (besides when Roy plays tricks on you) and you even _look_ like you could be a queen! Maybe that's why you just… became second in command behind Connor and Vulcan."

"...You think I look like a… queen?"

"Of course! You look like you have an ice crown, or something over your face, and your body looks like a dress. That's pretty cool if you ask me."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Um… Yes?"

"...Thank you." She tilted her head and smiled slightly.

"No prob."

She turned back around, and we travelled in relative silence for the rest of the way. When we came to the ocean paths, and she turned to me, "...Would you… Like to speak over a gummi smoothie this evening?"

I nodded, "That would be good."

"...After the mission, we will exchange information in the fashion that you implied. Do we have an agreement?"

She extended her hand, and I extended mine, but withdrew upon touching her ice cold skin, "...Deal."

 **-Alice's POV-**

"Sir! Please, we'll handle this!" _Why can't they ever just stay close and stop trying to pick fights?!_

Our client, a Girafarig, used psychic on a Heracross, but the pokemon was barely fazed.

"I can take care of myself, thank you!"

"I believe you, sir, but seeing as we are your escorts through the mountain, it is our duty to protect you!"

 _And you lost a fight with a tyrogue, using up one of our reviver seeds in the process, then got in the way of a dragonbreath Mirage had aimed at a Ledyba, using up another one!_

Mirage's wings hummed beside me, "She's right, sir! It's our duty to protect you, and in order to do that, we respectfully request that you stay behind us and let us take care of the enemies."

He stared at us, "...Very well. Take me to the Secret Chamber, then."

We found the stairs and went up to the next floor, and Mirage whispered, "These kinds of missions are _sooo_ hard."

I shrugged, "Well, Vulcan has told us about escorts before. They're usually more difficult than other kinds, even if the difficulty ranking isn't that high."

 **-Rose's POV-**

 _Well, it's official… Brine Cave is no longer a challenge._

I used dragon breath on a Dewgong, and it went down in one hit. I sighed, "I need to find another dungeon…"

A Kingler grabbed me with its pincer, and I zapped it with thunderbolt, knocking it out. I pulled out my mission, "Rescue on the tenth floor? I got this."

I folded up the envelope and continued through the dungeon, making quick work of any enemies that got in my way. What Caroline said about evolution kept popping up in my head, in spite of trying to focus on the mission.

 _Having hands seems kind of cool… And being able to fly… but… I don't know…_ I used dragonbreath on another Dragonair that tried to sneak up on me, "Why am I so torn about this…?"

I coiled up next to the water and tried to picture myself as a Dragonite in the reflection. When I looked at myself… I couldn't find anything wrong with the way I was now. I'd lived my whole life on the ground and without hands… I was used to it. Not that I didn't want to be able to fly or anything… But what if I didn't like it? I couldn't just… switch back… Could I?

"Maybe I could ask Maris or Briar if there's some way to undergo… temporary evolution, just to test it out…?"

I sighed and uncoiled, "Well, I've got a mission to do. Thinking about it now won't do anything."

* * *

 **Sorry for another short chapter guys! I hope you enjoyed, as always, and I'll see you in the next update! Feel free to review or leave me a PM with any questions and stuff you might have! Um... Yeah. Thanks for the support so far, guys!**

 **-PL**


	29. We Meet the King of Space

**-Chapter 29: We Meet the King of Space-**

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

Jade and I finished our mission relatively quickly, but it was still dusk by the time we got to Spinda's Café to get our smoothies. Ends up it was a popular night in the cafe, since at least six teams were in the cafe at once. I said, "So, you want to go somewhere more… secluded? Y'know, since it is kind of crowded in here."  
She shrugged, "I don't mind. Wherever you'd like."  
I decided to stuff a blanket in my wonder bag after stopping by the tent, and we went to green meadow, a small mystery dungeon right outside of treasure town with no enemy pokemon. I laid out the blanket on the ground and sat down, and Jade eventually followed suit.

She sipped her smoothie after cooling it with frost breath, and began, "So... you first."  
"Huh?"  
"You wanted to talk, and now is your opportunity."

"Oh… Uh…" Now that the moment was here, I couldn't think of anything to say.

"So… how are we doing this? Asking questions, or telling each other whatever, or…?"

She smiled slightly, "Would you like me to begin?"  
I nodded, "Yeah. I mean, uh... yes, please…?"

"Very well… Would you like me to ask about you, or tell you more about myself?"  
"...Ask?"  
"Alright. What is your preferred color?"  
I tilted my head, "Out of everything you could ask, you chose that?"  
"Yes."  
"Okay… It's blue. And not that light blue like the sky, but dark blue like the ocean."  
She nodded, "Why?"  
"Why...? I don't know, it just... is. I didn't know you needed a reason for your favorite color."  
"Alright…" She tapped her chin, then asked, "Why did you join an exploration team?"  
"Because I wanted to fight bad pokemon and get stronger-"  
"No, no, that's what an exploration team does. _Why_ did you join?"  
I looked to the ground, completely caught off guard by the question. _Why did I join…? I've never really… Questioned it._ After I came up with an answer, I said, "...I was lonely, I think… I don't know..."

She looked to the ground, "Would you care to expand on that…?"  
"My parents… I never really knew them… And I didn't have any siblings to look after me. I was just… in the desert, fighting to stay alive. Let me tell you, I was real lucky to be a grass type… All the rock and ground types… Even then, it was tough, growing up. Fighting to survive. Fighting for the fun of it was never an option, or even an idea… It was always aim to kill, or at least incapacitate an opponent to where they were no longer a threat. That is, until I met Connor, Vulcan, Rose and Mirage. Those four… When I saw them… They didn't look mean, like most of the pokemon that passed through. They looked like they really cared for each other. The way they fought opponents without fear… I wanted that. I gauged their strength with a quick half-effort battle, then asked if I could join their team. All I thought was 'Man, I can't wait to get out of this death trap of a desert. Hopefully these guys are nice enough.' I didn't know that I would find a family that day, nor did I know all of the awesome times I'd have with them in the future."  
I looked up, "That's why I joined the exploration team. I was selfish and lonely at the time. But look where it got me. I'm probably… right behind Atlas, Vincent and you in strength and respectability. I don't regret any day that I've been on this team, and I doubt I ever will."  
She stared at me wordlessly, and I smiled weakly, "Alright… What was your family like?"  
She quickly crossed her arms and scowled, "I didn't know them."  
I raised an eyebrow at her defensiveness, "You don't remember anything about them? What kind of pokemon they were, or-"  
"I said I didn't know them."

I made sure to keep smiling, "...Hey... You've got my word that I won't tell anyone. Besides Rose, I'm the best secret-keeper."  
"...Nocturne, I'm very sorry… But I would really prefer not to talk about it…"

I shook my head slightly, confused at her sudden defensiveness, especially after I just opened up to her. But I knew that prying wasn't going to get me anywhere. "Alright, next question… What do you enjoy doing the most? What makes you happy?"  
Her scowl lessened, but she still rolled her eyes, "...I enjoy talking on a deeper emotional level, ironically."  
"Then why don't you?"  
She gritted her teeth, "My mother taught me to never show emotion. And when you get attached to others, or start to open up to them, you are setting yourself up to be hurt by those that you think care, or those that really do care, but leave you… For one reason or another. Or they just… die..."  
I felt the temperature drop, and the side of the blanket where Jade was resting frosted over as snow began falling from the sky. Jade took a deep breath, and the temperature stabilized again, "Dark types are cruel, evil, and… just… I harbor no love for their kind…"

 _Huh?_

I tilted my head and put my hand on my chest, "Jade, I'm… Y'know… A Dark Type… And what do Dark types have to do with anything?"  
Her eyes widened, "I… I didn't mean-! I would never intentionally say those things about you! It's just… Dark Types… Aren't… they don't bring back pleasant memories. Apologies for bringing it up out of nowhere."

"Ah, it's no biggie. Dark types aren't your favorite. So what? I know you don't hate me, and that's my primary concern in this situation."  
She sighed with relief, "Thank you…"

I nodded, "No prob. I just want you to know that the whole team trusts you… Even Magnus, as hard as that is to believe."  
She smiled at that remark, but quickly regained her stoic expression, "I know that trust can also change in an instant."  
I leveled an unconvinced look at her, "You seriously think that after all that we've been through together… That because of one little thing that happened to you in the past, we'll suddenly stop trusting you? You haven't let us down before. And I don't think anybody else on the team thinks that you will. You're a great leader, regardless of what went on in your past."  
"...You truly believe that?"  
"You kiddin' me? Of course I do. I'm not about to lie to you. I just told you stuff that nobody else knows about me."  
She smiled and sniffed once, and I saw a single tear flash-frozen on her cheek. I wiped it off gently with a slender vine whip and said jokingly, "The solemn ghost sheds a tear… Sounds like the chapter of a book… Or maybe the title?"  
I could tell from her expression that she was angry with herself, and I said, "Hey, it's alright to have a break down. We've all got a sensitive side. Just don't unpack and live there and it'll be all good."  
She let out a short laugh, and I smiled, "Ayy, I made you laugh! Looks like Vincent was wrong. You do have a sense of humor!"  
She pushed my hand away jokingly, "Don't get used to it, Noc."  
I smiled teasingly, "You called me Noc."  
"So?"  
"Not Nocturne."

"Does it matter?"  
"You've never called anyone by their nickn-"  
Suddenly, I heard a somewhat familiar noise behind me before Vincent's voice said, "What're you guys doing out so late? The rest of the team was worried that you guys got lost on your mission or something!"  
My eyes widened as Jade and I stood up, "It's not that late, is it?" As I looked to the sky, I realized what he meant. The stars overhead were so numerous… I hadn't even noticed that it was pitch black outside. Vincent transformed into a Froslass and did a voice impression of Jade, "Taking the day off without advanced notice is simply unprofessional and is utter flouting of every protocol put in place."  
I smiled slightly at his impressive impersonation of Jade, but I knew better than to laugh while she was around.  
Jade's eyes glowed for a second, and Vincent turned back into himself. He looked at his hands, then at Jade, "What the-?"  
"I'm perfectly aware of what time it is, Vincent."  
Vincent glanced at Jade, then at me, and he asked, "You two weren't… Y'know…?"  
Jade's eyes grew wide, as if she got what Vincent was implying, "Arceus, no! I would never-! We were discussing important matters." She began blushing, but her ice mask covered it up to where Vincent couldn't tell in the darkness of the night. But I could.  
I stayed quiet as he asked, "What were you guys talking about?"  
Jade replied, "We were discussing with each other why we both decided to join the team. I had promised him an evening to talk while we were on our way to our mission."

Vincent nodded, "Well, the bosses said we've got a full day of exploring a couple new dungeons tomorrow. Something about getting the Terra Cymbal, and Roy getting to scout out the Mystery Jungle or something. You wouldn't want to be doing all that on five hours of sleep."  
Jade nodded, "I understand."

"Grab hold, then. The bosses already hit the hay."  
We both grabbed his hands after I folded up the blanket I brought, and we were teleported back to our tent.

Jade floated wordlessly in, and I followed. Everybody else was half-awake, but when we laid down, they all closed their eyes and went to sleep.

 **-Connor's POV-**

After everyone gave their reports and we sent Vincent to find Noc and Jade, Vulcan and I went to bed. Vulcan rolled over and started to speak, but before he could say anything, we heard a familiar sound, followed by a voice.  
"I found them."  
Vincent teleported in, and he said, "They were hanging out in Green Meadow. They just lost track of time."  
I tilted my head, "What were they doing out there?"  
"Jade said that she promised Noc an evening to talk about stuff. They were talking about why they joined the team when I found them."  
Vulcan smirked, "Alright... Thanks, Vince."

"No pr-" Suddenly, the entire ground began heaving. Vincent hovered right above the floor, and Vulcan shouted, "Connor! What's going-"  
Suddenly, in a flash of light, the dragon from Maris' book was standing in front of us.

"I HAVE FOUND YOU AT LAST!" Palkia roared, ignoring Vincent, "THE DEFILERS WHO ARE CAUSING… THE DISTORTION OF SPACE!"  
Vulcan raised his hands, "Wait, it wasn't us! There's been a-"  
Palkia ignored him, "I AM PALKIA! I HOLD SWAY OVER SPACE! I HAVE DOMINION OVER DIMENSION! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE NOW! THIS IS THE END FOR YOU!"  
His shoulder gems glowed and bathed the entire bluff in a blinding light. I felt myself being condensed and moving super fast, like with Celebi, but a thousand times more powerful. For a few seconds, I couldn't see or feel anything. All I could hear was a high-pitched ringing noise, like when you stand too close to an explosion.

When my feet were touching ground, I looked around and saw a grey-green stone floor with purple walls. There was a chasm directly behind us, and Palkia slammed to the ground in front of us. Vincent was nowhere to be seen. I looked around nervously, "Where are we?!"  
"THIS IS MY DOMAIN! SPATIAL RIFT!"

The wonder of seeing it in person lasted for about a second before Palkia roared, "YOU DARE DISTORT SPACE WITHOUT MY PERMISSION? I WILL BE RID OF YOU NOW!"  
Vulcan waved his hand, "It wasn't us! We've been framed!"  
Palkia stepped forward, causing us to back up, "THIS IS THE END!" He swiped with his front claws, forcing us to jump back, even closer to the chasm. I looked over my shoulder nervously at the abyss behind us. Palkia roared and was about to attack again, so I turned and tackled Vulcan over the edge, and we fell into the abyss.

 **-Alice's POV-**

Zzzzzz….

"GUYS!"  
"Huh? Vincent? What..."  
"Connor and Vulcan… gah… at the bluff…"  
I opened my eyes, and Vincent was panting, "Something happened!"  
I sat up while the rest of the team began stirring, "What are you talking about? What about Connor and Vulcan?"  
"They're in trouble!"  
The air in the tent cooled down by twenty degrees in a couple seconds, and I got real nervous real quick. _Oh, snap… Jade's up._

Sure enough, she was floating in front of him in the blink of an eye, "What happened?!"  
"I don't know… Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and all I heard was a ringing in my ears, then they were gone!"  
Jade leaned closer, "You saw nothing?"  
"No… I can't believe it, either! It was like I couldn't see or hear anything! I have no clue what happened! When the light cleared, there were two huge footprints near the mouth of the bluff, but other than that, they just vanished!"  
Jade nodded and turned to the rest of us, "We will fan out and search. Vincent, you teleport Mirage, Magnus and Alice to eastern Immanis, fan out and look for them. When you find them, if you do, launch an attack into the sky as a beacon, of sorts. Be sure it's an attack that is large and makes considerable noise. Caroline, you, Nocturne and Rose will be fanning out from Treasure Town. Atlas, you, Roy and- Where's Roy?"  
She groaned after looking for him for a moment, "For Arceus' sake… Atlas, _you and I_ will stand as sentries around Treasure Town in case they return. Are your instructions clear?" We all nodded, and Mirage, Magnus and I joined hands/vines with Vincent, and he teleported us to the east side of the mountains.


	30. Through Nightmares in Space

**-Chapter 30: Through Nightmares in Space-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

As Vulcan and I screamed while we fell, I positioned ourselves to where he was on my back, and I pulled the wall out from next to us. The boulder floated after us and I shot a hydro pump directly down to slow our fall. The boulder hovered beneath us, and Vulcan shuddered, "A little warning when you're going to hurl us off a cliff next time?"

I smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. He wasn't listening either way, and judging by how he was advancing, we stood a better chance this way."

He sighed as we landed on the floor beneath us and quickly said, "I don't know about you, but we gotta split. Like, _now_."

"How are we going to last without our treasure… bags?"

As I asked, I saw a Kangaskhan rock at the entrance, with our treasure bags slung over the shoulders of the statue.

"Well… That's… convenient." Vulcan handed me mine, and slung his over his shoulder. He packed some items afterwards, and said, "With Palkia on our tail, I don't know how long we can run… But it's seriously life or death right now."

We ran through the entrance, unsure of where the exit would be. Hopefully there was one.

Almost immediately after going in, we discovered how tough this place was. They had lots of heavy hitters that Vulcan and I didn't have any advantages over, such as Gallade, Toxicroak and Drapion. But we didn't have too much trouble when we worked together. Also, you know that feeling that you get when you _feel_ something or someone right behind you, but when you turn, nothing's there? It felt like that the entire time with Palkia. If he showed up while we were trying to land a hit on a Gallade, that'd be a problem.

After about ten floors, there began to be a thick fog that covered the ground. I fell into a hole in the ground one time, but I raised myself up with Ancient Power. After that, Vulcan and I were both super careful about holes in the ground.

A little bit later, we made it to the halfway point, with that half-functional kangaskhan rock that was practically pointless. Vulcan wrote down in the adventure log, and we continued.

We ran into a monster house in the third floor of the second half right where the stairs were. Vulcan threw down a petrify orb, and we weaved through the pokemon, then I used blizzard as soon as we were right in front of the stairs. Most of the pokemon went down, and Vulcan and I went down to the next floor.

After a couple more floors, we came to the bottom, and we hit a dead end. Vulcan began melting away the stone with a flamethrower, but the stone here must have been fireproof, because it didn't do hardly anything.

He turned to me, "Well, Connor… No more running…"

He tried to pull out a petrify orb, but it was stuck to the bag, "We've got a boss fight coming up…"

The ground began quaking, and he sighed, "What'd I tell you…"

Palkia thudded on the ground in front of us, "YOUR RESISTANCE IS USELESS! YOU WILL NEVER ESCAPE THIS PLACE!"

I glared at him and began focusing to use Ancient Power, "We noticed…"

The walls began trembling slightly, and Vulcan nodded almost unnoticeably. Palkia roared, "I WILL REVEAL WHY! IT IS YOUR FATE… TO BE OBLITERATED BY ME! THIS IS IT!"

He flew forward, and I shouted, "Hit the deck!"

Vulcan fell to the floor, and I launched half the wall from behind us directly into Palkia. He stumbled backwards, and Vulcan glowed with a Dragon Dance Aura.

He sprinted forward and began charging focus punch, dodging Palkia's Dragon Claw attacks. Palkia leapt backwards, but Vulcan's speed was too much. The punch connected solid, and Palkia roared again, "Y-YOU DARE?! I WILL DESTROY YOU!"

He placed his arms together, and an orb of water formed. He made a pushing motion, and a massive water pulse expanded and moved straight towards us. I activated magic coat and Vulcan readied a substitute. The attack bounced off of me and back to Palkia, and Vulcan ate an oran berry as his substitute melted away into a puddle of water.

He began glowing white, and dashed forward again, showing no fear. Palkia raised his foot, but Vulcan leapt up at the last second and climbed up his leg and onto his face, and used dragon claw on Palkia's eye. The dragon roared and threw Vulcan off, but the substitute poofed away and he re-appeared behind me and grunted as he ate another oran berry, "Geez…"

Palkia growled and turned his good eye to us, "THIS ISN'T… I WILL NOT- I CANNOT BE DEFEATED!"

His shoulder pearl started glowing, before his entire arm was bathed in a pink light. Vulcan gasped, "I think that's his ultimate move! Like Dialga!"

I nodded and prepared to use protect. Vulcan got into a stance and threw up a light blue barrier that was just like mine. _When did he learn Protect?_

Palkia swung, and I threw up my barrier as well. The attack sliced straight through the ground in front of and behind me, leaving only a small platform of stone where Vulcan and my protect barriers had been. Vulcan leapt forward again, and I shot an ice beam. Vulcan landed another Focus Punch after I froze Palkia's foot in place. Palkia staggered backwards and roared, "GROOOOO-OOOOH-!" Then he froze mid-roar.

"What…?" I stepped forward, "He's frozen... Why?"

A voice spoke from nowhere, "Palkia has been… Palkia has been enveloped by the nightmare, just as Azurill has…"

Vulcan looked around and shot fire in every direction, "Who's there?!"

I tilted my head, "What do you mean, he's enveloped by the nightmare?"

"It means that the power of darkness has spread so much further. If its growth remains unchecked… The world will be drowned in darkness. But you two… Would you two enter Palkia's nightmare?"

"Enter Palkia's nightmare…?" I asked.

"Yes. By entering Palkia's nightmare… you will find out why he attacked you. So? What will you do?"

I shook my head, "Sounds like a trap…"

Vulcan nodded, "I agree, but we're kinda out of options. If we don't do this, then there's no way to get back to Treasure Town…"

I turned, "We'll enter the nightmare!"

"Fine! You've decided! I will send you into Palkia's nightmare." The same purple tunnel that Drowzee sent us through appeared, except this time, I didn't feel like I was put to sleep.

We landed in front of Palkia, and his eye appeared to be healed. When I looked at the dreamscape, it still looked like Spatial Rift. Guess he wasn't that creative.

Vulcan leapt back, "Palkia!"

Palkia reared back in surprise, "YOU TWO?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY DREAMS?!" Then he glared, "NO! I REMEMBER! WE WERE BATTLING! SO WHY AM I… DREAMING?"

I sighed, "You've been enveloped in a nightmare, Palkia."

"WHAT...? WHAT DID YOU SAY? I'M… IN A NIGHTMARE?"

He roared, making Vulcan and I both leap back, "THAT PROVES IT! YOU BOTH SHOULD NOT EXIST!" He raised his arms to attack, and suddenly a voice emanated, "Pardon my interruption, but Palkia, was it? These two are speaking the truth."

Palkia's arms lowered, and he looked around, "WHERE… WHO ARE YOU?"

"That depends on who you ask. If you decided to ask Jade, she'd say a nuisance. If you ask my family… Well, they're dead, so… yeah. Not going to get much out of them."

I looked at Vulcan, and he tilted his head, "Roy…?"

The voice spoke up, "Lord Palkia, may I ask what my friends have done to deserve such aggression?"

Palkia roared and glared at us, "YOU DARE TO PRETEND THAT YOU DON'T KNOW?! YOUR FRIENDS ARE DISTORTING SPACE WITH RECKLESS ABANDON! IF THE DISTORTION SPREADS, THE POWER OF DARKNESS WILL GROW! THE WORLD WILL BE DROWNED IN THIS NIGHTMARE OF DARKNESS! TO PREVENT IT... THEY MUST BE WIPED FROM EXISTENCE!"

Vulcan winced, but said, "Something doesn't add up, though! You rule over space! Can't you fix it?"

Palkia growled and looked to the floor, as if he were thinking, "IT IS TRUE THAT I CAN BEND SPACE TO MY WILL… BUT FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, I AM UNABLE TO CONTROL A PART OF SPACE! WORSE STILL, THE DISTORTION OF SPACE IS AMPLIFYING! THIS IS ALL YOUR DOING! THERE IS BUT ONE WAY TO SAVE THE WORLD… AND THAT IS FOR YOU TO BE ERASED FROM THIS WORLD FOREVER!"

 _He's saying exactly what Cresselia said… So could she have been right? Could our existence really be driving the world to ruin?_

Vulcan shouted, "Roy, back us up here!"

There was no response. Palkia sighed, "I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU, BUT THIS MUST BE DONE TO PRESERVE PEACE. PLEASE UNDERSTAND."

I gulped, but then a female voice said, "Ah, I've found you at last…" A light shone, and Cresselia appeared behind Palkia.

She looked around and growled, "The spreading darkness engulfs even this place!" Palkia stepped to the side as she floated towards us, "You two must be eliminated as soon as possible…" We backed up as she moved closer, "Before we pass the point of no return."

We were backed against the wall, and she was still advancing. Vulcan glared at her, "Connor… We've done the best we could, but… if this is where it ends… then I'm not going down without a fight!" He set his hands ablaze, and I turned to face him. We made eye contact, and he wavered, "Connor…?"

Cresselia looked at him, "You would rather put the world at risk?"

"I need to know all the facts before I go and kill myself. And all you've been doing is giving me assumptions without any real proof. So… Yes, to answer your question."

"Cresselia…" I murmured, "If we do disappear… will the world really be saved?"

Cresselia nodded, "Yes. It will. Beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Vulcan shouted, "You really believe this, Connor?! She still hasn't given us a single reason _why_ we're the ones causing this!"

"Vulcan…" I started, "We've had a good run… but… if we really are endangering the world… then it might be best to just save it and disappear. If it will save the world, then it's a sacrifice that I'm willing to make. I've done it once before, why not do it again?"

Cresselia nodded, "Are you finally satisfied?"

Vulcan growled, "Think about the team, Connor! How can I lead without you?! There is always another way! We just have to find it!"

I shook my head, "Vulcan… If this is the way to save the world… I'm willing to disappear again. You can join me, or not. But I'm doing it."

Vulcan tilted his head at me, then looked between Cresselia, Palkia and I before his flames died down, "If… If it's for the world… I won't let Connor do it alone…"

"WAIT." Vulcan and I both looked at Palkia, "CRESSELIA… BLINDED BY MY FURY, I ATTACKED THEM EARLIER… BUT UPON SEEING THEM NOW… THEY DO NOT SEEM TO BE DRIVEN BY MALICE OR WICKEDNESS. IN MY DREAMS, CRESSELIA, YOU INSISTED THAT THEY WERE EVIL… BUT ARE THEY TRULY?"

I gasped, "Cresselia said what?!"

Cresselia didn't break eye contact with me, "Do not be fooled by appearances, Palkia. If we get rid of them now, all will be saved."

 _So Palkia's been getting false info from Cresselia… Now it's looking suspicious again._

Vulcan reignited his hands while I took a more grounded position, ready to attack.

Cresselia glared, noticing our change, "Enough! I will be rid of you now!"

"Connor! Let's do this!"

I nodded and readied an Ice Beam, and Cresselia charged, "Take this!"

I leaned forward, but suddenly a dark barrier blocked Cresselia, and another female voice said, "That's it! Never abandon hope!"

Suddenly, a Mismagius materialized from the shadowy barrier, "Stay away from them!" He swirled mystical fire around Cresselia, seeming to trap her. Then, beside Roy, a flash of light appeared, and when it died down, floating next to him was…

"Another Cresselia?!"

A yellow light shone from her body, and the first Cresselia glowed and was replaced by a slender, black pokemon with a pair of electric blue eyes, one covered by its white hair-like extension. The pokemon flew over the flames towards us, and Cresselia pushed it back, letting Roy hit it with a magical leaf. "Excellent! I was just in time!"

Palkia roared, "WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?! WHO IS THIS?!"

The pitch-black pokemon panted, "Blast you… Cresselia! I've been foiled! And just as I was about to dispose of these meddlers once and for all!"

Roy smiled, "It looks like you're outmatched, outclassed, and outnumbered. Why, we've even got a deity!"

The pokemon glared at Roy, "I should've put you to sleep permanently when I had the chance, little ghost. How you got here is beyond me, but-"

"Oh, that was simple. I latched onto Connor and Vulcan's shadows. Relatively easy work, especially getting into the nightmare once you made it for me. I just hope that miss Sunshine doesn't get on to me too much when we return. I doubt that she'll be amused. Probably sent out a search party looking for us by now."

The pokemon growled, probably ticked at being interrupted, "...Next time I won't be so lenient."

Cresselia turned to us, "Vulcan! Connor! And Palkia! Please hear my words! You have been mislead all this time! By Darkrai there!"

Palkia glared at the little dark pokemon, "WHAT?!" Vulcan and I just stood there, awestruck.

"The Cresselia you thought you knew until now… Was not me! That false Cresselia was nothing more than an illusion made by Darkrai! It was merely a mockery of me!"

Vulcan nodded briefly and crossed his arms while Cresselia glared, "Darkrai! Using an Illusory duplicate of me to deceive others… Is so typical of you! But you usually never bring your actual self out of hiding! You normally operate under the cover of darkness! The fact that you'd personally emerge from the shadows to dispose of these two… is so unlike you!"

Darkrai growled and floated upwards, then pointed to us, "You two… behind Cresselia…" I tensed up as he continued, "Pay close attention…"

He spread his arms outward, "Now, the one truly responsible for exploiting the space distortion…? For shrouding the world in nightmare…?" He put his hand on his chest and did a mocking bow, "That is my doing. And mine alone."

" _What?"_ I was about ready to bring the cave down on top of him, even if it was a dream.

He chuckled, "You are more than welcome to try and stop me. Come to me in Dark Crater."

Cresselia shouted, "You're not getting away, Darkrai!" She charged forward and Roy shot a magical leaf. A black hole appeared behind Darkrai, and he vanished.

"Well… That was anticlimactic." Roy snickered, "Well, I'll just be on my way…" I shook my head and said, "No, sir. You're staying with us."

Darkrai's voice echoed, "You cannot catch me, Cresselia… Not ever. You two… I shall be waiting in the Dark Crater."

Vulcan tilted his head, "Dark Crater…?"

* * *

 **Boom! Chapter 30! It's really picking up now, huh? This was my interpretation of the whole Palkia's dream thing. After all, what's a story if it's exactly the same as all the others? As always, hope you enjoyed! Feel free to leave a review or PM if you did, and I'll see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	31. Cresselia Explains the Nightmare

**-Chapter 31: Cresselia Explains The Nightmare-**

 **-Atlas' POV-**

I'll admit, even though my muscles don't get tired, going all night without sleep sucks. Jade was half-ghost, which made her immune to sleep deprivation, so she just floated around all night, like a sentinel or something. I got bored really quickly as well. When the sun began rising, and nobody had returned, I sighed, "Jade, when are we going to sleep?"

She continued floating forward and around Treasure Town, "When I see that our leaders are found, one way or another."

I groaned and rolled my eyes, looking back to the bluff. Suddenly, I saw an orb of light sailing through the sky and into Sharpedo Bluff, followed by a brief flash of light coming from that direction. At first I thought it might've been the sun, but the sun was behind me. I ran over to the bluff and went down the stairs, only to see Vulcan, Connor, Roy and another strange-looking Pokemon in the bluff, as if nothing had happened.

Vulcan looked at me, "You wouldn't believe the night we had..."

I shook my head while looking down slightly, "Jade's gonna kill you, Roy."

He smirked, "That was a risk I was willing to take. However, when she hears the story, she won't be as inclined to do anything of that sort, since I helped in saving our leaders' lives."

I looked at Connor, and he nodded, "It's true. Where is everyone?"

"Out looking for you. I'll call everyone back… You guys have some explaining to do." I went back up the stairs, charged a massive Focus Blast, and shot it straight up into the air. It detonated, making a massive blast at least a mile above the ground. Then, from different locations, a Solarbeam, Seed Bomb, Dragon Pulse, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt shot into the air, signaling that everyone knew to return.

 **-Connor's POV-**

Cresselia accompanied us back to the guild, and when we came to our old room where Azurill was asleep, her glow enveloped Azurill. He slowly relaxed and woke up. We met with the rest of the guild, our recruits, and even Marill, who was at the crossroads, about to come visit her. The two brothers had another heartfelt reunion.

Marill turned to Cresselia, "You did it, Miss Cresselia! Thank you so much!"

Azurill leapt up, "And Mr. Drowzee too!"

Drowzee reeled back in shock, "Huh?! Me?!"

We moved out of the way as Marill and Azurill walked over and thanked Drowzee. Marill added, "You stayed to take care of Azurill this whole time. Thank you so very much!"

Drowzee rubbed the back of his head, "Well… Shucks, its the least I could do."

Vulcan turned to Cresselia, "Say, Cresselia, where did Palkia go after dropping us off?"

Cresselia replied, "Palkia is immersed within spacial rift… Where he's attempting to take care of the distortion in space. As the being that governs space itself, he is staking his pride on success. Given that duty, I would not expect him to manifest here again. At least, not for a long while."

Chatot nodded, "Well done! How remarkable! It's truly quite marvelous! Marvelous indeed, Cresselia! We'd heard of your power to dispel darkness, but only in rumor. But it was all true! I must say, this is completely marvelous!"

Focusing back on the conversation, I said, "So that's how you broke Darkrai's illusion in Palkia's nightmare and got us out of there?"

Cresselia nodded, "Indeed. I do have the power to dispel darkness. It lets me dispel darkness and awaken those in the deepest sleep. Darkrai stands as an opposite to my being. He has the power to enshroud those who sleep in nightmare."

I nodded, "That makes sense…"

"Connor. Vulcan. Do you recall where you met my impostor? The impostor, that is, to say, the first Cresselia you met… those encounters were always within dreams, weren't they?"

Vulcan crossed his arms, "You're right! In our dreams, Azurill's nightmare… We didn't think about it at the time, since we weren't necessarily dreaming ourselves… But I see it now! Why didn't we think of that?"

Cresselia nodded, "Darkrai has the power to create realistic illusions. What Darkrai was doing… was using his illusions to make you think that you were seeing me. It was an elaborate ruse to get at you, Connor and Vulcan… So that your whole existence could be eliminated."

The guild members and our recruits all gave exclamations of disbelief.

"Whaaaat?!" Bidoof shouted.

Chatot exclaimed, "To get rid of Connor and Vulcan… from this world? E-eliminate?! Those two?!"

Atlas nodded,"That explains why they went to Maris yesterday and were talking about space and its distortions…"

"But why didn't they tell us what was going on?" Caroline asked.

Jade replied, "Because there was no need to cause undue worry. Be that as it may, there was nothing that we could have done to prevent it, since they were ambushed at night, and Palkia incapacitated Vincent at the moment he took them."

"Well, it's shocking that he wanted to get rid of you…" Drowzee said. "But why would Darkrai plot something so complicated? Why go through all the trouble of using a Cresselia impostor? Wouldn't it be faster to confront them directly in battle?"

Cresselia nodded, "I have asked myself the same question. But if I had to guess, it would be that… it was all out of fear of Connor and Vulcan."

Vincent snickered, "Well, he's not wrong in thinking that. He's probably heard of how they fight, and was afraid he'd lose."

"Yes." Cresselia nodded, "Because Connor and Vulcan saved the world once before, when they prevented the collapse of Temporal Tower. But who was really the one that put the ruin of Temporal Tower in motion? Who was it that really sought to put the planet into paralysis? It was none other than Darkrai."

Vulcan gasped, "That was him too?!"

"Darkrai intends to enshroud the world in darkness. Darkrai failed to do that with the destruction of Temporal Tower. After that failure, he turned his attention to the distortion of space itself. If the distortion of space were to grow, Darkrai's power to create nightmares would also grow. What he sought to do was envelop all pokemon in a nightmare. It was all Darkrai's doing… He was making the distortion of space expand."

"All of it…" I murmured, "Was Darkrai…? But I thought that the space distortion was expanding because of us."

Cresselia nodded, "It is true that your existence is causing a spatial distortion… but the distortion that you cause is extremely small. Furthermore, your distortion won't expand on its own."

"So… We're all good?"

"Yes." Cresselia smiled, "The expanding distortion of space has nothing to do with you. It was blamed on you, however, so that you would be eliminated. It was all part of Darkrai's elaborate deception."

I let out a sigh of relief, and Vulcan laughed with a relieved tone as well, "So it is alright for us to be here after all…"

Wigglytuff stepped forward, "I don't know what you two went through… but… it's just not possible… for either of you, Connor and Vulcan, to not belong in this world… If either of you went away… it would make me sad. I think that everyone at the guild would be sad too. It makes us happy that you're with us, Connor and Vulcan! That's reason enough to keep existing!"

I smiled, "Thank you…"

Wigglytuff continued, "More than that… it's not just Connor and Vulcan… everyone here… all the pokemon in the world! Not one of their lives is without meaning! So never think that you don't belong ever again! Stay full of cheer, alright?"

I heard a sniffle, and Vulcan was wiping his eyes. He shook his head and attempted a smile, "I got dirt in my eyes…"

Corphish chimed in, "Hey, hey! But talk about dirty and dishonest! That Darkrai's a piece of work!"

Cresselia nodded, "He never comes out in the open. He does his nefarious work from the shadows. If you confront him, he will always flee. That is how he has always done things. But Darkrai is doing something so unlike him right now… He has invited Connor and Vulcan to confront him…"

I nodded, "It's true. Darkrai said that he'll be waiting in Dark Crater."

Wigglytuff nodded, "Cresselia, you believe that he demanded Connor and Vulcan come to him for a reason, don't you? Do you believe that it's a trap?"

"Yes. It's a trap. Without a doubt," Cresselia replied.

Vulcan looked at me, and we both nodded. I said, "Trap or not, if we don't stop Darkrai, then the whole world will be smothered in darkness! We have to do something! Let's go!"

Cresselia paused before nodding, "...Okay. I respect your decision. I will accompany you. I have long been aware of Darkrai's scheme… I have pursued him a long time to thwart his plan. But every time I caught up to him, he would elude me… This time, he is waiting for us. I would like to settle this once and for all."

"I'll go too!" Drowzee said.

"Me too!" Chatot added.

Atlas cracked his knuckles and smirked, "Let's see what he's made of when we take the fight to him."

Everybody else started volunteering to go with us, but Cresselia looked around and said, "I'm so delighted by everyone's offer to help. I'm afraid that Darkrai would be scared off if too many of us were to go. This is a rare chance to corner Darkrai and stop his nefarious scheme. Please be content with the three of us going."

Everyone was disappointed, but agreed that it was for the best. Vulcan smiled, "Don't worry about us! We've beaten foes way tougher than him! We'll defeat him for sure!"

Chatot said, "Yes! You do that!"

"If anyone can, it's you two!" Drowzee added.

"You all take care, by golly!" Bidoof sniffed.

I grinned, "Thanks, everyone!"

We met up on top of Sharpedo bluff and Cresselia said, "You two should prepare for an exploration. We will be leaving shortly."

Vulcan shook his head, "There's something not right about this… Are you sure only the three of us can go?"

"As I said, a large number of pokemon would scare him off."

Vulcan placed a hand on his chin, "Y'know… I've read enough books to know what's going to happen. Darkrai's going to pretend to challenge us alone, then attack with a bunch of henchmen and take us all down in one quick swoop."

Cresselia paused, "...Be that as it may, I stand by my original statement. Tell your ghost recruit not to hide in your shadow, either. Darkrai will be expecting that trick after his appearance in Palkia's nightmare."

I nodded, "Will do."

Vulcan smirked, "An oran berry says he'll have a bunch of goons waiting for us."

We left to stock up, and Vulcan packed four chesto berries first-thing. When I asked why, he said, "Darkrai causes nightmares by putting pokemon to sleep… I don't think you can have a nightmare if you're awake."

I smiled, "Makes sense…"

After we finished packing a stash of berries along with our usual getup- my stamina band and Vulcan's blue bow, with his heat armlet in his bag- we went to spinda's cafe. Vulcan clasped his hands together, "Alright… Guys, and girls… We're headed out to save the world again. You all have the day off to do whatever. Train, hang out, or just have fun. If there's anything you've been meaning to do, do it today. Just in case we don't make it out of this -which is highly unlikely- but still a possibility."

They all nodded, and I smiled, "Good luck, guys."

Vincent smirked, "You'll need it more than us."

I laughed, "Alright, wish us luck, then! We're off to finish this, once and for all!"

The recruits nodded and began talking amongst themselves. Vincent was talking to Rose, and Noc was asking Magnus if he wanted to spar, from what I could hear.

Atlas crossed his arms, "I could train any day, though… What to do if this was our last day…"

Alice looked at odds with what to do, so I decided to intervene after Noc told me about her and Atlas. I pushed her out of her seat with a small stone, and she jumped up. That caught Atlas' attention. She stammered, "So, um… you want to spend the day together? Y'know, just to hang out?"

Atlas shrugged, "Sure. Why not?"

We went back up the stairs after that, and were about halfway through treasure town when Vulcan gasped, "I forgot my heat armlet at the cafe! I'll be right back! You go wait for me at the bluff!"

I shrugged, "Alright."

I joined Cresselia, and she waited silently. Vulcan jogged back, "Sorry… About that…"

Cresselia smiled, "It's not a problem." She turned and faced out over the sea, "To the northwest of here… there is a land of Volcanic terrain. The Dark Crater is located there. I will guide you there."

I tilted my head, "Don't we have to take the ocean paths?"

Cresselia shook her head, "That won't be necessary." Her eyes glowed, and we began floating. Vulcan gasped as his arms and legs flailed every which way as he tried to gain control, "Whoa! What the-!? How do you steer this thing?!"

Cresselia laughed, "Don't worry. I will control your flight path."

Vulcan relaxed, and he stood straight up, his feet dangling like he was standing on his tiptoes. I looked at him as we sailed across the sky, "Well… This is it…"

He nodded, "Yeah. Let's finish this."

* * *

 _ **Mehr... This is so intense. Also, to all the people that have favorited and/or followed me or my stories, hello! Welcome to the club! Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! It's coming to a close, but fear not! There is more on its way. Go ahead and leave a quick review or PM and let me know if you want to see any OCs in the next story! They don't have to be team members, either! Much Love!**_

 ** _-PL_**


	32. WWYD if the World Were Ending?

**-Chapter 32: What Would You Do If the World Were Ending?**

 **-Mirage's POV-**

I soared over the desert after Connor and Vulcan left, since I hadn't ever been back here outside of missions. I had offered to come here alone, since Noc and Jade were hanging out after Magnus and him sparred, Rose was with Vincent, and Alice and Atlas were hanging out. Roy was just… Roy. He said that he'd rather stay in Treasure Town for the time being, whatever that meant. Caroline went off to train some new technique she found out. I smiled as the sun beat down on my wings, and I sped through the desert, carefree for the first time in a while.

 _Connor and Vulcan will win. They always have._

I soared around, not having any destination in mind. I kicked up a small sandstorm in my wake as I flew and shouted with sheer joy.

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

"So… Why'd you invite me out here, Jade?"

We walked back to the green meadow, and she turned, "I figured that, since this is potentially everyone's last day in this world, I should tell you about my past."

My eyes widened, "Oh. Well, I'm all ears. ...Metaphorically speaking."

She smiled, "You're a good listener."

"Um… thanks?"

She nodded, "My pleasure."

We sat down in the grass on the side of the hill, and I laid back, "Magnus is a tough pokemon to beat."

She let out a barely audible laugh, "Your strength is no mean feat, either. To be able to triumph over a flying-type, even one like Magnus, takes a lot of physical strength, as well as mental discipline."

I shrugged, my back still sore from tanking a full-force body slam, "Yeah... So, what went on in your past to make you hate dark types?"

"You… remembered that?" She seemed sort of embarrassed, but I didn't let it bother me.

"I'm a good listener." I replied with a slight smile.

"I must have your word that you will not tell another soul what I'm about to speak of."

I nodded, "You've got my word. I'll take it to my grave."

"...I… You know, it would be easier to show you…"

"Show me? What do you- Oh."

Her eyes glowed, and the scenery around me was replaced by a snowy, mountainous landscape. A snorunt was out playing in the snow, having a good time. I turned, and Jade was floating beside me. "How are you showing me this?"

She sighed, "Telepathy."

The Snorunt smiled, "Wheeee!" As it slid down a snow-covered hill. It tumbled into another froslass, and she smiled, "Iris! What are you doing so far from home?"

The Snorunt giggled, "Sorry, mom! Uncle Eric showed me this snowy hill I could roll down! It's so much fun!" The snorunt laughed and threw snow around and rolled in it some more.

I tilted my head as I watched them, "You… You're the snorunt?"

She nodded, "Yes…"

The Froslass picked up Jade-Iris, and floated back to a small, snow-topped wooden village as the sun set overhead. They floated through the door, into a house that looked cozy enough, with beams made of ice and wood, and the Froslass smiled, "I"m back!"

Past Jade leapt out of her mothers' arms and ran to a Glalie that rounded the corner, "Uncle Eric! That hill you showed me was so fun! Can you refreeze it tomorrow?"

The Glalie let out a warm laugh, "Of course, Iris! Anything for my niece!"

A Charizard rounded the corner as well, and the Froslass stared, wide-eyed, "Who is this?"

He turned to the Froslass, "Sis, can I talk to you…?" Jade-iris began following, and the Glalie smiled as he looked down at her, "Hey, Iris, I need to talk to your mom about something… It's… adult stuff."

She nodded, "Okay!" And began playing with the various items on he ground. I walked through the scene's wall and into the next room, and Eric said, "This is Iden. That group we've been hearing about is after him… He asked if we could take him in for a little while. He has lost his mate and son to their wickedness. He feels that the group won't look in an ice village for him."

The Froslass shook her head, "You're joking, right? We can't take in this pokemon! Who knows what could happen?!"

The Glalie sighed, "I know, but… I can't stand by and refuse to help a pokemon in need."

The Froslass paused, "...Very well. Eric, please don't let me be right."

He grinned, "Psh, when are you ever right?"

She jokingly punched him, "Shut up…"

The Charizard nodded, "I already have a snow cave dug out beneath the house where I can take refuge. Nobody will know of my presence here, I swear it."

I turned to Jade as she floated next to me, "I was blissfully unaware of what would happen several days later..."

The scene changed. I was still in the house, except everyone was asleep, and it was pitch-black outside. Jade said, "This was several days after the we took in Vulcan's father…"

I gasped, "Iden is Vulcan's father?!"

She nodded, "Now, watch…"

Jade and her mother were asleep on a straw bed, and Eric was sleeping on a couch against the wall. Suddenly, the Froslass bristled in her sleep and woke up. She smelt the air, "Smoke…?" She woke up her brother, "Eric! Iris! Wake up!"

The fellow ice-type opened his eyes slowly, "Huh…?"

Suddenly, fire poured through the window, and the Glalie bellowed a frost-breath. "Hazel, get back!"

He pushed back the flames, and the Froslass picked up past-Jade, "Eric! Come on!"

He shook his head as a seemingly endless flamethrower poured through the windows, "No time! Run!"

The Froslass shook her head, "No! Come on! We can all make it!"

He shook his head in response, "For Arceus' sake, Hazel, listen to me! It's my job to make sure you're safe!"

I withdrew from the flames, and present-jade said, "This is just a vision… It can't hurt you, Nocturne."

The entire house began crumbling from the shattering forces of fire and ice as they pushed against each other. Beams of splintering, half-frozen, yet burning wood began falling. The Glalie turned and shouted, "Move it!"

They all floated as fast as they could, and past-Jade cried, "What's happening?!"

Hazel the Froslass said, "Iris… We have to leave."

As she said this, Eric pushed them out with a blast of cold wind, and the house collapsed. Hazel fell to the ground and her eyes widened, "ERIC!" She raised her arm and used psychic to lift the splintering wood off of her brother, and he rolled into the air from underneath the burning rubble, "Thanks… Gah!" He fell back to the ground, and Hazel gasped as a dark blue blood dripped from his side, "You're hurt!"

He winced, but smiled, "Naw, I just had a burning house fall on top of me and got out unscaved… You're so observant."

She set Jade down in the snow, "Iris, stay here…" She placed a hand on Eric's side, and he groaned, "Ow! A little gentler, please! Ice doesn't cooperate with fire very well!"

She scowled, "You always did take things like this lightly…"

I looked behind us after hearing a faint noise, and a Honchkrow landed in the snow, accompanied by a Bisharp. "Oh, what's this? Survivors?"

Hazel turned quickly, "You… Who are you?"

"...I am Victor."

Eric grunted from his position on the ground, "You… Are you here to help?"

Victor chuckled, "I'm looking for a Charizard by the name of Iden… Do you know him?"

Hazel shook her head, "No… We don't."

Victor sighed, "Pity… I don't appreciate being lied to. You see, he's got a debt that he owes to me. So… you tell me where he is, and I'll let you all live."

Hazel gasped, and I shook my head, "No… He's going to kill them either way…"

Eric growled and got up, "We don't know where he is."

"So you do know him."

"Huh?"

"You said 'where'… not 'who'."

The Glalie's eyes widened, and a Mandibuzz flew in out of nowhere, snatched up past-Jade and flew straight into the air. She screamed, "Mom!" Jade winced as she watched next to me, but I didn't ask. I already knew what was happening.

The Froslass opened her mouth, "IRIS!" and Victor said, "If you so much as form an ice shard, my coworker will be forced to do something very unfortunate. And I don't want it to come to that. Just tell me… Where is Iden?"

She glared at him, "I don't know!"

Victor rolled his eyes, "You knoble pokemon… You always die first. Tell you what, I'll count to ten. If I get that far, it'll get messy. One last time, as a memory refresher. Where… is… Iden?"

Hazel shook her head, "He was gone this morning when we awoke! I swear it! Please, just don't hurt my daughter…"

"One…"

Eric growled, "Stop this! Please!"

"Two…"

Hazel bawled, "No! Please, don't hurt my daughter!"

He glared at her, "Nine..."

The ground beneath him erupted into flames, and a mega-evolved Charizard, with pitch black skin and dark blue wings roared as it burst out of the ground, "HERE I AM!"

Victor took to the air, and Iden rammed straight into the Mandibuzz. It dropped Iris, and Iden vaporized the Mandibuzz instantly with a white-hot flamethrower. Hazel caught Iris, and Iden turned, but Victor was already gone. He landed on the ground and de-evolved, "I… I'm sorry. I had no idea that they would-"

Then, a Houndoom leapt from behind a building, and Iden tensed up, "Look out!"

The Glalie turned just in time to be hit with a flamethrower at point-blank range. He writhed and growled as he hit the ground, "Ahhhhhh!"

Iden flew forward, but the Houndoom bit down on a warp orb and was teleported away. Hazel gasped, "Eric! No!"

Iris sniffled, "Uncle Eric…?"

He gasped, "Gah… That… That stings…" His ice-skin was melted almost entirely away, and he croaked, "Leave me… There's nothing you can do… Sis… Take care of Iris."

He took his last breath, and Iden tilted his head down, "I… I'm sorry…"

Hazel sobbed, and Iris sniffed, "Can you bring him back…?"

I looked at present Jade, and I saw tears forming in her eyes as she watched next to me. I said nothing, and just continued watching.

Iden shook his head, "I can't, Iris… I'm sorry…"

She wept, "Please! I want my Uncle back!"

Iden sniffed and murmured, "Hazel… I am so sorry… For everything…"

"Go away…"

He tilted his head, "What?"

"GO AWAY!" She shot an ice beam at him, and he blocked by crossing his arms and superheating them, "Okay! I'm sorry… I'll do whatever I can to make them pay." He threw down a warp orb and was transported away.

Iris looked at her mother, who was collapsed on the ground, "Mom…?"

She sniffed as she floated upwards, "Iris… We have to move. It's not- AUGH!"

A dark blade of energy jutted through her chest from behind, and the Bisharp growled, "You're not going anywhere… Except the distortion world." He withdrew his blades and Jade's mother collapsed to the ground, unmoving. He glared at the paralyzed Iris/Jade, but scoffed and waved as he turned around, "You ain't worth my time." And left Iris in the snow, alone, with nothing but a burning house and the bodies of the ones she loved. Iris stumbled forward, "Mom…? Mom! NO! Please! Wake up! You can't go! Not like this! We have to make it!"

Jade's mom opened her eyes and coughed, then groaned in pain and clutched at her chest, the dark blue blood spurting out of her back, staining the freshly fallen snow, "Iris... Promise me that you'll live on... Become stronger than I could ever hope to be... And stop those evil pokemon..."

Past-Jade nodded, "I-I will..."

Hazel smiled, "Good... I will see you again, my beautiful daughter..."

Then I saw the outlines of four pokemon that looked somewhat familiar advancing before the vision faded.

Then, we were back on the green hill. I tilted my head, and Jade sighed without looking at me, "Now you know the truth… I lost my uncle and mother that night, due to that group, which, in case you didn't notice, were all part dark-type. That's why I didn't want anything to do with other Dark-types, and is why I still harbor no love for their kind. I suppose that you'd like to leave me-"

I pulled her into a hug, and she stiffened up. "Wh-what-?"

"For all that fancy talking you do, you're awfully thick-headed. Why in the world would I leave now? _Why_ would I have _any_ reason to do that? Just because some dark-types did something awful to you in the past? I'm nothing like any of them!" I pulled away, "But… what happened… to you in between then and now? You said your mother taught you to not show emotion, but-"

"She did."

I looked at her, "How?"

"When she died in front of me... I closed up, emotionally... mentally... I never talked to anyone, at least, not until I met this team. It was a horrible way to live… Knowing that your mother and uncle were killed while you watched, but you were helpless to save them. And… the rest of my village… all of my friends and remaining family… They all burned and were executed. I was the sole survivor of my entire village. I wandered the island, lost and alone."

I sighed, "I… Guess I can't really relate to that…"

I waved my arm, and a massive tree sprouted from the ground, providing a place of shade in the prairie. Jade leaned against it, and I sat down, waiting for her to continue. She looked at me, "Nocturne… Thank you… for listening to my 'sob story', as Caroline would call it. I hope that you don't think I'm doing this for attention. Because I'm not."

I smiled, "If you were doing it for attention, you would've shown the entire team and been super obvious about it and been whining all the time.." Then I thought of a question and said, "So... what's your favorite type? I know dark and fire aren't high up there, but still..."

She sighed, but smiled, "Grass-types… They are delicate, yet strong enough to break through the toughest stone. It's quite incredible…" She started to lean closer, closing her eyes slowly, but quickly opened them, then floated upwards, "We… We should go. There is no further meaning to-"

I grabbed her arm gently, "Or… we can stay here, at least for a little while. It's the end of the world, remember?"

She shook her head and pulled her arm away, "Until the world ends, I will act as though it intends to go on. And I would prefer to be left alone for the time being to reflect on my choices."

She began floating away, and I sighed internally. _I don't get it... Why is she so sensitive to opening up to others?_

 **-Alice's POV-**

 _ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh… Why did I do that?!_

Atlas stared patiently at me, waiting for me to answer his question after I brought up the subject. Why did I bring it up?! The conversation was going so well, when out of nowhere I had to open my big mouth and ask if there was anybody he liked. When I asked, he raised an eyebrow, "Why? Do you?" Of course he would ask that! Of course! I brought it up out of nowhere!

I took a deep breath, "Um…" _Come on! Spit it out! Just say it!_

"Alice?"

Atlas' voice shook me out of my thinking, and he waved his hand, "You don't have to say if you don't want."

I shook my head frantically, "N-no! It's not that! I want to… Just…" I took a deep breath, "I… I like…"

He sighed, "You like me?"

I nodded, "Yes!" Then I realized what he had just said, "Wait, you already knew?!"

He sighed, "Nocturne told me. Way back when we went to Aegis Cave… Seems like such a long time ago… But yeah. I've had suspicions since then. But I've never thought much of it."

I did a mental face-palm. _I didn't know Noc told him… Heck, I didn't even realize he talked to Atlas!_

"I'll admit, you're really pretty, and you're nice, but I've honestly never really thought about romance or settling down, since I'm kind of in my fighting prime. But I've had some time to think things over since then, and… I'm not really saying I feel the same way, necessarily..."

I buried my face in my hands, but I looked up when he began mumbling, then spoke more clearly.

"But…" I looked up as he continued, "I'm willing to explore the possibility… So, what I'm trying to say is… Um…" He cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his head, "I'd like to see where things go from here, if you really feel that way."

I grinned from ear to ear, "Thank you… But… I don't know what we could do. To be completely honest, I didn't expect to get this far."

He shrugged, "Ah, don't worry about it. We've got tons of time for all that. You don't think Connor and Vulcan could lose, do you? They're both two of the toughest pokemon I've ever met! I mean, they beat a deity! That's not something many pokemon can put on their achievement list!"

"True, true…" I leaned into him, and smiled as we sat on the edge of the bluff, overlooking the sea. _When I see Noc, I'll slap him for telling Atlas. Then I'll thank him for telling him._

 **-Roy's POV-**

"Ugh… What to do on my last day… It's a shame that we can't help them. I guess this is how it was for Atlas, Rose, Vincent, Mirage, Magnus and Nocturne when they saved the world the first time. Not knowing if they would live to see another day…"

I sighed as I sunk into the ground. _I'm having half a mind to go anyways… But I don't want that fiend Darkrai to put me to sleep again. That was surprisingly horrible. Not at all like what I told sunshine back in treeshroud forest._

 ***Flashback***

 **The electric blue eye stared at me, and I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I was in Treasure Town, except it was burnt to the ground, smoldering in a pile of embers, with corpses of the locals scattered about and torn apart, some beyond recognition. Wigglytuff's guild was caved in on itself and in ruins, Spinda's cafe was glowing red-hot, and as I floated through, and I could** _ **feel**_ **the death emanating from the very ground. The sky was stained crimson red, "What happened here…?"**

" **Roy!" I turned, and Connor was glaring at me, as a Swampert, "Where were you?!"**

 **I floated backwards, "What do you mean? What happened while I was gone?"**

" **They came, Roy! I'm all that's left! They killed everyone…"**

 **My eyes widened, "No…" I turned, and I saw our team's tent. I rushed over and lifted it from the ground with psychic, to find Vincent, Nocturne, Magnus and Rose all soaked in their own blood, unmoving. I floated backwards, "No! NO! They can't be-!"**

 **Connor shouted, "You could have saved us! You could have! But you were gone! You disappeared, just like you always do!"**

 **I shook my head, "I don't understand! I was** _ **just**_ **chasing a pokemon in Treeshroud Forest when-"**

" **You weren't here!"**

 **I looked at the ruins of the town, and it all seemed too real to be a hallucination.** _ **How… How did this happen…?**_

 **Connor growled, "You…" Then he shot a hydro pump at me. The spirits in the ground stopped me from phasing into the ground, so I was hit head on and crashed into the nearest shop.**

 **I coughed up the water, unable to phase away and escape, and I glared at Connor, "This isn't real, is it?"**

 **He laughed, "Honestly, Roy, being the master of nightmares you claim to be, you're awfully dim-witted about the subject."**

 **I shot a shadow ball at him, but the orb stopped right in front of me and launched me back into the ground. Then, the dark pokemon appeared in the sky, "You can't face your fears, Roy… You're a spirit, a remnant of an old body… Incapable of deeper emotion..."**

 **I frowned, "You're right about two things. One is that I can't face my fear. I have to embrace it! My fears... make me stronger! They make me kinder! There's no point in running away if it meant that I'd be alone… Friends… My friends… Are the ones that give me the strength to fight!"  
Darkrai chuckled, "Even the wench Froslass?"**

" **Sunshine's a special case, but the saying still applies to her! And you didn't let me finish. I am a spirit. My past life is through. But it doesn't define me! I am strong enough to overcome a little illusion!" I launched a mystical fire at the sky, but it swirled around me and began burning away my ghostly flesh, no matter how hard I tried to control it. I let out a silent scream as my skin turned to Vapor and I was burnt away.**

 **Then, I woke up. Jade almost had to slap me to wake me up, which wouldn't have really worked anyways, since I was a ghost.**

"Roy!"

"Hm?"

Vincent walked up to me after breaking me from my flashback, and I had to remind myself that our team suffering defeat would never happen, and he started, "Vulcan asked me to do something, and I want you, Rose and Noc to come with!"

I tilted on my side, "And where is our cactus-looking friend, speaking of which?"

He gestured to spinda's cafe, "Him and Jade just got back. She's even crankier than normal, for some reason, along with Noc. She won't even talk to me, or him. And I can't use mind reader on either of them to tell what's wrong due to their typing."

"Oh, sunshine's cranky! big deal!" I sarcastically smirked and leaned forward slightly, "Don't let it bother you. She's not exactly a social butterfly."

"But-!"

I smiled, "Tell you what, I'll take a look at what you had in mind. I was planning on taking a nap if nothing came up. Whatever you have in store must be much more exciting."

Vincent raised an eyebrow, "The world's threatened with an eternal nightmare… And you're going to take a nap?"

I grinned, No point in losing sleep over eternal sleep."

Vincent sighed and let out a short laugh, "...Come on. I'll fill you in when we get back to the Café."

 **-Connor's POV-**

"This is it, Cresselia?"

She nodded as we came to a cave set in almost pitch-black stone. Vulcan looked at it and said, "Well, it suits Darkrai."

Cresselia turned to us, "Here… We face Darkrai. There is no telling what he has in store for us. We must proceed with the utmost care!"

We both nodded and Vulcan reached into his wonder bag, "Cresselia… I have something I want to give you…"

She tilted her head, "Oh? A gift?"

Vulcan nodded, "Yeah. Croagunk told us it was a special item for you. When we traded in for it, we had no idea that we'd actually get to give it to you. Vincent just said it looked cool, so we went for it, since we had a ton of exclusive items to trade in anyways from all of our missions."

She gasped, "Oh! A Lunar Veil!" She used psychic to drape it across her back, "Thank you! This will help immensely!" and we walked into the cave. Like with all mystery dungeons, the entrance disappeared behind us. No turning back now… The only way out was forward.

* * *

 _ **Okay... Don't hate me for prolonging the in-between of Darkrai's battle thing. I just wanted to develop the characters a little bit more before the end, you feel me? That being said, if you enjoyed, go ahead and leave a review, or PM me if you had any ideas or characters for my next story! Much Love!**_

 _ **-PL**_


	33. The One Behind It All

**-Chapter 33: The One Behind It All-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

As we moved through the dungeon, I took a look around at the black stone that was lit up by the red Magma everywhere. Cresselia helped us out with repelling opponents so we could conserve our strength for the main event. That Lunar Veil really helped matters, boosting all of our stats when Cresselia used a move that boosted stats.

After the first floor, Vulcan turned to me, "Man, this is going to be the best fight yet, I can feel it."

I let out a short laugh, "Yeah. If we don't die, this'll be one heck of a story."

Vulcan laughed in reply as we continued down the dungeon.

When we came to the next floor, a Hippowdon had a sandstorm raging. Vulcan spat sand out and shouted, "Freakin' sandstorms! Give me a break!"

I smirked, "Complaining won't make it go away." As I used ancient power to flatten a Monferno against the wall.

I used water gun on a Ponyta, and a Rapidash absorbed Vulcan's inferno. He backed away as it used fire blast, and I threw up a protect barrier. He scowled, "Great… Flash fire…"

The heat was almost unbearable with the magma everywhere, and the fire types all over the place didn't make it any cooler. Vulcan and Cresselia were fine, but I was dying by the midway point. When we came to the rest area, Vulcan wrote down in our adventure log while I cooled myself off with a small blizzard that I formed around myself.

After the snow evaporated, Cresselia said, "Let's move on. We must be getting close."

After about three floors, we lost a reviver seed when a Hippowdon knocked out Vulcan with Earthquake. Cresselia was unaffected due to her levitate, but I was barely standing after that attack. I used ice beam, and right after that, a Combusken knocked me out by using mirror move to reflect my hydro pump back at me. I have to say that Mirror move was now my least favorite move after being knocked out another time, by the same Combusken.

After journeying down a few more floors, we figured out that most of the pokemon here had flash fire, meaning that Vulcan was practically reduced to his normal and dragon-type moves. Which wasn't a problem, since he knew a few really powerful moves, but it was still an inconvenience when he tried to use inferno, but a Rapidash ran in out of nowhere and absorbed it.

The Infernape were a real problem, especially since they could fight really well, and had a longer reach than Vulcan. Even with Cresselia using confusion, for some reason, she was weaker than us, so we always beat them by a tiny bit, then we relied on our healing factors to heal us, since we decided to save our oran berries for the fight ahead.

I panted through the next floor and turned to Vulcan, "Man, if we're this tired when we reach the bottom, we won't stand a chance…"

Vulcan smiled, "Don't worry. I've got a plan. It'll throw Darkrai so off guard, nobody'll even know what happened!"

I tilted my head, "And that would be…?"

"Can't tell. If he can read minds, that'd be bad."

I stared at him incredulously, "Seriously? A Dark type reading minds?"

"You never know."

I let a small smile form in spite of the pain and fatigue, "...Whatever."

Eventually we came to the bottom, and I was so exhausted that it seriously took everything I had to stay standing. The land ahead was a dead end, and a boiling pool of lava stretched out beyond the end of the path. Cresselia took the lead, and we followed.

Vulcan looked around, "It looks like this is the deepest we can go."

As I took out an oran berry to recover my strength, the room suddenly dimmed, and Darkrai's voice cackled, "Hm hm hm hm ha ha ha! You've kept me waiting."

Then, without warning, he appeared right in front of us. We backed away at his sudden appearance, but quickly got ready to fight.

"Good of you to come, Connor and Vulcan." As he said my name, his eye glowed. I felt a tingling sensation in the back of my head, but I shook it off.

Vulcan threw his arms in the air, "What's your deal with us, Darkrai? You don't even know us, and you're trying to kill us!"

Darkrai smiled, "I know you all too well… You especially, Connor."

I took a step back, "Huh?"

Chuckling, Darkrai continued, "When you came to this world with Grovyle… You two were caught up in an accident."

I though about it deeply, _An accident…? Wait! Grovyle told me about that! "While we were travelling through the passage of time, we were met with a storm-like turbulence. That was when we got separated."_

Darkrai smiled, "Yes. You were also transformed from a human into a pokemon… And you lost your memory as well. Has it not occurred to you… how odd that accident was?"

I narrowed my eyes, "What are you implying…?"

Darkrai laughed again, "Just think of how the accident occurred… Precisely when you and Grovyle were travelling through time… That fails to strike you as odd?"

Vulcan stepped forward, "Alright, what gives? How do you know so much about his accident?"

"That very accident was caused by… none other than myself."

Both Vulcan and I shouted, "What?!"

Darkrai continued, unfazed by our outburst, "My wish is… to engulf this world in darkness. I set my sights on Temporal Tower because of its tie with time… I sabotaged Temporal Tower. That would have eventually led to the destruction of time. And, ultimately, the planet's paralysis."

He growled, "However, Grovyle and Connor decided to meddle… I learned of their impending arrival from the future… And I attacked Grovyle and Connor as they travelled in time… So that I would be rid of them. But… An unforeseen event made it impossible to be rid of either of them. It should have been enough. Especially for Grovyle… However…"

He looked at me directly, "Do you wish to know how you came to be a pokemon, Connor? During that accident… you shielded Grovyle from all of my attacks."

I started thinking out loud, still trying to process all of this information, "I shielded him…?"

"Yes. You absorbed the brunt of the attack I'd intended for Grovyle… It appears that your fierce will to protect your partner, as well as your extraordinary abilities, became entangled with the many dimensions during your time travel. As a result, you were transformed into a pokemon and developed amnesia."

Since I was rendered speechless with shock, Darkrai continued, "I thought stabbing you through your chest would be sufficient. I thought that it was enough to have killed you, and even if you somehow healed, render you incapable of preventing the planet's paralysis. But… I underestimated both yours and Grovyle's resourcefulness… You met Vulcan and the two of you stopped the destruction of Temporal Tower. Because I'd underestimated and disregarded how much you would meddle… My original plan ended in failure."

Cresselia nodded, "That's why… That's why you decided to get rid of Connor and Vulcan first this time! So they wouldn't be an impediment to your scheming! That's why you tried to break their spirit… Even going as far as to use an impostor of me!"

Darkrai remained silent, and Cresselia continued, "Even now… You lured us here… So you could be rid of us all in one fell swoop!"

Darkrai laughed and clapped slowly, "Very good. I did indeed intend to do just what you say."

Vulcan's arms burst into flames like they normally did, and I got ready to slam him with Ancient Power.

"But…" Darkrai spread his arms, "I've had a change of heart." Caught off guard by the statement, Vulcan's flames died down and I tilted my head, nearly dropping the boulders, "Huh?"

"So… Connor… Vulcan… Both of you are brave. You've shown great initiative. To be rid of you forever… seems like a tragic waste. You've both shown so much promise… why not join me?"

I was too shocked to even reply, instead, I just said, "Uh… What?"

"Why not join me…" Darkrai repeated, "In ruling a world of darkness, where you can be king over the dreamscape?"

My jaw dropped. _He can't be serious… Does he really think that Vulcan and I will join him?!_

"It is entirely possible if the three of us were to band together. Well? Will you join me?"

Cresselia turned to us, "Connor! Vulcan! Don't believe his lies!" Vulcan looked to the ground silently, and Cresselia shouted, "Vulcan! Are you listening?!"

"Maybe… He's right…" Vulcan said.

I looked at him incredulously. _He's kidding, right?_

Cresselia shouted out, "Vulcan! No!"

Vulcan frowned, "Who are we kidding…? We don't stand a chance against Darkrai… Fighting it now is pointless. We might be better off just doing what he says."

I continued staring at him, and I hissed, "Vulcan! What are you doing?!" He ignored me and walked over to stand by Darkrai. Darkrai laughed and said, "You chose wisely, Vulcan! Very practical of you."

Darkrai turned to Cresselia and me, "Now, Connor, what will you do? When you are one of us… Our first order of business will be Cresselia there. The three of us shall be rid of her together."

Cresselia gasped, "Wh-what did you say?!"

Darkrai ignored her, "Now, Connor… Come, join your friend on the winning side."

Cresselia stared at me, "Connor! Don't go!"

Vulcan waved me over, "Come on, Connor…"

I stared at him wordlessly, and he said, "If you don't join us… Darkrai won't want just me… He'll kill me, then finish off the both of you..."

Shocked at that possibility, I stepped forward, but hesitated. _Was this his plan? To pretend siding with Darkrai…? That doesn't really seem like something he would do..._

Darkrai laughed, "Your choice, Connor. Will you join us?"

Vulcan said, "What he's saying can't be all bad, right? I mean, it'll take some getting used to, but it's better than getting killed."

"You see? Your trusted partner has seen the truth. Come. Will you not rule the world of darkness with us? And you shall… reign as lord in a world of darkness. Now, Connor… Consider your answer carefully. Join me and Vulcan… We'll rule the world together!"

I scowled as the anger inside of me grew, "Um… No."

Vulcan gasped, "But Connor-"

"No, okay? I don't care if you try to fight me; I won't side with somebody who put us through so much, then tries to make me join him!"

I surrounded myself with an aqua jet and charged straight for Darkrai, until I heard a distant Voice, "...nor… Connor…! Wake up!"

 _Vulcan…? 'Wake up'?_

Suddenly, it all started making sense. _This is all… a nightmare!_

My eyes snapped open, and I was still charging forward in an Aqua Jet straight for Darkrai. He dodged to the side, but I shot a hydro pump to redirect my attack, and it hit him square in the chest.

He reeled back, but floated up again, growling, "Y-you!" He punched me in the face and sent me flying back. Vulcan grabbed me as I stumbled backwards and said, "Hey, you started using aqua jet in your sleep! What did you see?"

I shook my head, "Not important… The point is I was seeing an illusion made by Darkrai!"

"Blast it!" Darkrai cursed, "I was on the verge of success! Is that your answer, Connor?!"

I nodded and readied Ancient Power, breaking off chunks of the walls around us, "Like I said, I would never side with you. And I sure as heck won't let your plan come true!"

Darkrai crossed his arms and glared, "Humph… So be it. You've made the wrong choice. There's nothing left to say. I will be rid of you now."

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

As Darkrai said that, the entire room went dark, then lit back up. Suddenly, we were surrounded by six pokemon. I muttered, "Told you…"

Connor rolled me an oran berry, "You win."

I smirked and stared at Darkrai, "Give me a boost…" _Man, I hope Vincent knows what he's doing…_

Connor vaulted me into the air, and I used flash, my skin glowing as bright as the sun. All of the enemy pokemon cried out in pain as the blinding light shone throughout the room. When the light died down, a single pokemon was crouched in the middle of the arena. Darkrai floated back, "What is this?!"

Vincent, as a Smeargle, stood up and looked around, then at us, "Did I miss the butt-whooping?"

I sighed with relief, "No, you're... actually a little early."

He nodded, "Good. 'Cuz I brought backup."

As he said this, Rose dropped from the ceiling and used double team, causing Darkrai's henchmen to retreat from her illusory copies while Noc and Roy floated out of Vincent's shadow. They formed a circle with us, and Darkrai roared, "NO! This isn't possible!"

Connor smirked, "Vince, turn into something that can take Darkrai. Noc, you take on the Rhyperior, but be careful. He's probably got something for grass-types. Roy, you get the Magmortar. Rose, take the Mismagius. Vulcan, you get the Aggron. Cresselia, take care of the Arbok before it can poison anybody. I'll take the Magcargo." He took a deep breath, "Alright team, let's do this!"

I handed out Chesto Berries, and Darkrai sputtered, "What?! You can't just-!" Vincent leapt forward as a Hariyama and hit Darkrai with an arm thrust, sending him crashing into the wall, "Um, yeah, we can. Because we just did! Ooooooh!" He gave himself a high-five, and I laughed at how lightly he was taking this.

Darkrai growled and righted himself, "Grr… I will destroy you like the weaklings you are!"

We all got into position, facing our opponents in a circle, and I asked, "Anybody want to start?"

When nobody moved, I smiled, "Nothing? Alright, how about this?" I bellowed a flamethrower at the Aggron, and it crossed its arms, roaring as its iron armor melted around its skin. Then the rest of the pokemon charged forward. Connor used hydro pump on the Magcargo, knocking it out in one hit, and he quickly turned to the Rhyperior. Sure enough, it knew Poison Jab, so Noc had a really close call when it almost connected. That being said, he was holding his own.

He casually dodged and snickered, "That as fast as you can go? Magnus is so much faster!" His eyes glowed briefly, and a bundle of grass tripped the massive pokemon. I stifled a laugh, but quickly focused as the Aggron used heavy slam on me. I activated counter, sidestepped, and thrusted with a massive surge of energy, sending the Aggron crashing into the Rhyperior, who had just been decked by Noc's needle arm.

Both of them were down, and I saw Roy pelting the magmortar with Power Gem, and then he sunk into the ground once it launched a flamethrower at him. Right afterwards, the Magmortar's eyes closed, and it collapsed, asleep. Roy cackled, "Oh, goodnight, all of you! Heehee! Oh, eternal nightmares are no fun. Temporary ones are where it's at!" He stared down the Arbok, and it collapsed to the ground as well.

My joy was cut short as Vincent was sent sailing over my head, and Darkrai growled, "You-!"

Cresselia flew over to Vincent and fed him an oran berry, and Connor threw boulders at Darkrai from a distance while Noc ran in to get close and probably use drain punch. I ran forward while Rose finished off the Mismagius with a thunderbolt.

Darkrai swiped at Nocturne, but he ducked behind a spiky shield, and Darkrai clutched his hand, "Gah!" I hit his face with a fire punch, and Connor slammed him into the ground with ancient power. Roy swirled a mystical fire around him, and Darkrai roared, "Enough!"

He shot out a dark pulse that blew out the flames, and all of us were sent flying backwards. He held his side, "Gah… I refuse to lose here…" He fired a dark void attack at me, but my chesto berry kept me wide awake. He gasped as I smiled, "Goodnight."

I bellowed an inferno, and he crossed his arms, shielding himself from the flames with Protect. Vincent crashed through the protect barrier with feint, then transformed into a Heracross and charged forward with megahorn. Darkrai floated to the side, then used double team, and Connor slammed hundreds of small stones into all of the duplicates with Ancient Power, wiping out all of the translucent copies. Cresselia used slash, cutting the real Darkrai across the chest with her wing-like projections. He fell to the ground while I charged up a focus punch, and after I hit Darkrai square in the chest, a flash of light went off for a second as he cried out in pain and was slammed into the wall.

Cresselia spoke, "We… Did it…"

Darkrai didn't speak, only growling in response. Cresselia moved forward, "This is the end for you, Darkrai!" The tip of her crescent moon crest glowed and shot a beam of light at him. It hit his abdomen and he was knocked back again.

Darkrai groaned weakly before smiling, "Don't you remember, Cresselia…?" He staggered and floated upwards, "I said… you cannot catch me!"

His eyes glowed and a strange portal appeared at the back of the rock platform.

I stared at it, _that looks like a dimensional hole!_

Darkrai laughed weakly, "This dimensional hole may take me to the future… or the past… Even I don't know where it will lead me… but…! I've only failed this time. I'll simply plunge the world into darkness another time."

Vulcan dashed forward with a Dragon Dance boost, and Vincent shot a stun seed from his paint cannon, but Darkrai knocked the seed away with Ominous Wind and floated backwards until he was right in front of the portal. He smirked, "Hmph. Too bad for you. I can slip away through time in just one step. You cannot catch me. Goodbye to you!"

He let out a laugh, "How do you like that?! Finally, in the end… It ends in my ultimate Victory!"

Suddenly, a mighty, space-shattering voice bellowed, "I WON'T ALLOW THAT!"

Everybody looked around and Darkrai gasped, "Wh-what?!" The room began rumbling and a light flashed before Palkia himself landed in the side of the room.

Darkrai shook with fear, "Y-You're…"

I said, "Palkia!"

Palkia growled and glared at Darkrai, "YOU WILL PAY A GRAVE PRICE FOR EXPANDING THE DISTORTION OF SPACE, DARKRAI! THIS IS A STRIKE FOR JUSTICE!" The pearls on his shoulders began glowing, "TAKE THIS!"

He let out a mighty roar, and a ball of energy began condensing at his mouth. The entire room started shaking, and Darkrai screamed as he dove into the portal.

"THERE IS NO ESCAPE!"

As Darkrai flew in, Palkia fired the ball of energy after him. There was a flash of light as the orb flew into the portal, and when it cleared, the dimensional hole froze, then shattered like glass.

Cresselia stared, wide-eyed, "The dimensional hole shattered! With Darkrai still inside it!"

Connor said, "I heard Darkrai scream… Did he disappear?"

Palkia turned, "NO. THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED. HE HAS SUFFERED GRIEVOUS DAMAGE… AND BEEN BANISHED TO SOME UNKNOWN PLACE… BUT WHEREVER HE MAY BE… HE LIVES."

I looked at Palkia, "Once he recovers, won't he just go back to destroying the world?"

Cresselia replied, "That remains to be seen…" As Connor and I turned to her, she continued, "Because when Darkrai entered the dimensional hole… he began to time travel… at that precise moment, he was struck with Palkia's attack. Remember what Darkrai said about Connor's arrival from the future? Darkrai attacked them during their time travel… So Connor developed amnesia. So it is likely that he has developed amnesia as well."

My jaw dropped, and Connor asked, "He got amnesia too?!"

Cresselia nodded, "He may have been banished to another dimension entirely, seeing as Palkia's attacks can bend space itself, but yes. He will likely never recover his memory… And he will wander, lost, throughout the world."

Palkia nodded, "WE ARE DONE WITH HIM. HE WILL NOT EXPAND THE DISTORTION OF SPACE AGAIN. I WILL RETURN TO SPATIAL RIFT. I FORESEE NO REASON TO EVER RETURN HERE. FAREWELL." Palkia enveloped himself in a golden sphere of light and flew away.

Cresselia turned to us, "Well, that is that. Shall we head back?"

Connor nodded, "Of course!"

I did a fist-pump, "We saved the world again! I can't wait to get back!"

Vincent smirked, "What a great story to tell. Well, guys, let's go home!"

Vincent grabbed hold of Rose, Noc, and Roy, and they were all teleported out. I threw down an escape orb, and we were transported to the entrance of the dungeon.

 **-Darkrai's POV-**

 _Ooogh… Where am I…?_

I pushed myself up from the ground and began moving through paths carved between different hedges of leaves, accented with stone decorations of some sort. I glanced around nervously. _How did I get here…? And where is… here?_

I turned to a faint noise behind me and a Roserade asked, "Who are you?"

"Who… Am I? …I... don't know..." _Why do I not remember…?_

She began moving closer, and I shook my head, confused as to what was happening, "Go away…"

She tried to come closer in spite of my protests, and I shook my head again, "Stay away!"

I felt an energy form in my hands, and a dark bolt of energy shot at the pokemon in spite of my will. She was enveloped in a crimson orb, and she collapsed, asleep.

I floated backwards, "No…"

A Kirlia teleported in front of me, facing the pokemon, "Roserade!"

It turned to me, "You… What did you do?"

Ignoring her, I continued to think out loud, "Where am I…? How did I get here?"

She got prepared to fight, and I waved my arm, now being focused on her, "No… Please, I don't…" She looked… Afraid. Just like me. I didn't want to fight her… She shot a magical leaf at me, and I shot the same bolt of dark energy. _It only puts them to sleep.._.

I floated through the garden, afraid and alone, without a clue as to how I got here, when a Luxray attacked me. "You hurt my friends! This garden is no place for the likes of you!" It swiped at me with its claws, and I sunk into the ground to dodge. It leapt back and fired a hyper beam at me, and it hit me square in the chest. I was thrown to the ground, and the Luxray growled, "Who are you?"

Suddenly one memory emerged at the front of my mind, "I… am Darkrai!"

The Luxray kept glaring and readied another attack, and I shot another orb of dark energy that enveloped it. I found shade underneath a tree, and I sunk to the ground. I saw a strange-looking pokemon that I had never seen before run up to the one I had just put to sleep and cry out, "Luxray!"

Then, it looked right at me… I collapsed to the ground and leaned against the trunk of the tree, groaning in pain.

I closed my eyes, only opening them when I heard footsteps, and the strange creature extended its hand out to me. I reached out to touch its hand, but withdrew, cringing at the pain in my chest. It frowned at first, then smiled warmly, "Are you hurt? Are you… in pain?"

I nodded slowly, and the female gasped, "Oh, you are…" I groaned some more, and she smiled, "I'll help you! Alicia make you well!"

I stared at her, "Hm?" And she just giggled, "You don't have to leave! You can stay here!"

My eyes widened, "Do you... mean that?"

"Of course! You can stay here for as long as you'd like! This is everyone's garden!"

I blinked, "Everyone's… Garden…"

She picked a leaf from the nearby bush and pressed it to her mouth, "My mom taught me this song! It's called Oracion! It'll make you all better!"  
"Oracion…?"

She blew into the leaf, and the melody that ensued made my pain disappear as the other pokemon gathered around and laid down, smiling. I closed my eyes, "Thank you… Alicia…"

* * *

 **Sorry, but that whole Darkrai thing made waaaay too much sense in my mind, so I had to add it in. Don't hate me. That being said, I hope you enjoyed! Go ahead and leave a quick review if you did, and if you have any questions, comments or concerns about my next story, go ahead and PM me!**

 **Also I'm setting up a poll for the next story for you guys. It's at the top of my author page if you want to go ahead and vote! That being said, It's not quite over yet. Still got a few more chapters of epilogue stuff, then possibly another sequel that's entirely made up with my Fanfiction Powers. So... yeah! See you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	34. Peace At Last

**-Chapter 34: Peace At Last-**

 **-Victor's POV-**

"Boss!"

"What?" I growled. I was rather impatient, and had a lot on my mind.

"We've got a team that wants to see you."

I raised an eyebrow, "Have you run a background check on them?"

Nagini nodded, "They function in a similar manner to our operatives."

"...Very well. Mordred, you handle this. I can't risk my identity being revealed to spies or anything of that sort. Especially if Cinder is involved."

He nodded, "Of course, Master Victor."

I left the room and smiled, "This is moving along much faster than I had previously imagined… Iden and Cinder will be found… One way or another."

 **-Connor's POV-**

When we got back to Treasure Town, our entire Team, along with several other teams, were in Spinda's Café, waiting to welcome us back. After a quick nap to recover, we both kicked off a party that put all the others we've had to shame. A ton of Pokemon from around Immanis came to Spinda's Café, including that mysterious Team Hope, Team Core, Team Charm, Team Ebony, Team Frontier, and a bunch of others I had never seen before, filling the café to the brink of overflowing.

For some reason Alice slapped Nocturne in the face, then gave him a hug without even wincing at his spikes, which had him looking at Jade for some reason, but she just didn't seem to be in a partying mood, not even making eye contact with anyone. I moved up to her, "Hey, Jade, don't be such a downer! Tonight's a party! If you want to be visibly upset at everything, do it tomorrow, okay? Then we can work on whatever the problem is."

She seemed to be in deep thought, but eventually nodded, "..Very well." Then, she actually smiled for the first time since we had learned about Darkrai, "...Thank you, Connor."

As Atlas got into an arm wrestling contest with the Machoke from Team Frontier, with Vincent and Breloom cheering them on, I murmured, "You're welcome…"

I looked around and couldn't help but grin. Mirage, Rose, and Alice were all chatting with Sunflora and Lopunny from Team Charm, and whatever it was had them laughing. I'm guessing it was boy-related stuff. Nocturne was in a drinking contest with Magnus, Loudred, Zenith from Team Hope, Seth from Team Core, and Rhyperior from Team Raider.

I saw Nashoba, the leader of Team Hope, talking to a weird-colored Charizard. Like, it was black, with red wings. Vulcan gasped, "A shiny Charizard?!" He got up from his seat and went to talk to it.

I chuckled as I sipped my smoothie, "It's good to be back…"

Jade had begun conversing with Maris, Cosmo from team Hope, and the Gardevoir from Team Charm about intellectual stuff, and actually seemed to be absorbed in their thought-provoking speech patterns, in spite of all the noise in here. Roy was talking with the Shuppet and Murkrow from Team Ebony while Caroline dished out drinks all across the café with Vine whips, helping ease the traffic at the bar with Spinda.

Shinobu, the Greninja from team Hope, sat down next to me and said, "In your team… I see a light. A star brighter than any other. They will accomplish many more great things with you and the Charmander leading them. While it is unfortunate that you cannot evolve for the time being, you have my respect. Good evening." Then he melted into shadows and re-appeared on the opposite side of the cafe.

I got up and ordered a Blue Gummi smoothie from the bar after I absent-mindedly finished mine. Caroline handed it to me, smiling, and we began talking about our battle with Darkrai, and what happened afterwards with him and how we were in the clear to stay in this world.

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

When Connor and I awoke the next morning, I was honestly more excited than I had been in a long time. In fact, the only time I think i've ever been more excited than this was when Connor came back from us saving the world the first time. Connor sat up, apparently well-rested, and I beamed, "Good morning!"  
Connor smiled back, "Good morning…"

I tossed him an apple, "We've got a full day of exploring today! The Shimmering Desert and Mystery Jungle are the two big ones right now."

Connor smiled, "Alright! Let's do this!"

We went to the Café, and Connor couldn't stop smiling the entire way there. Our recruits were waiting at the table, as usual when we went down the stairs. I took out the missions, "Alright… We're doing some pretty big missions today."

Noc was smiling, probably because he won the drinking competition last night without even breaking a sweat, and Atlas was pretty pumped that he won the arm-wrestling contest against team Frontier's Machoke.

I turned to Roy, "You scouted Shimmering Desert, right?"

"Of course." He replied.

"Good. We need to put together a team to go get the Terra Cymbal."

Connor nodded, "Well, there are primarily ground and poison types there, so I think that I would be pretty solid to lead the exploration, and Jade, perhaps, since she knows psychic and ice type moves… Nocturne-"

Jade cleared her throat, "If I may interject, I feel that I would be better suited to lead an exploration to a new dungeon that I was made aware of yesterday evening."

I gestured for her to continue, "And that would be…?"

"It is a dungeon by the name of happy outlook. I found detailed instructions of how to get there on the bottom of a drink glass during our celebration."

I looked at Connor, and he shrugged, "Sure. Alright, so… Another… Magnus, you up for it?"

He smirked, "About time I got to fight a f***in' legendary."

I looked around at our team again, "...Vincent, you want to come?"

He nodded, "Of course! I'm ready to face another legendary too!"

"That's settled then!" I said. I looked at Connor, then at Roy, "Roy, we were going to have you scout out this location a couple days ago, but you know how hectic it was with all the stuff going on, so we want you to do it today."

He picked up the letter with psychic, "Alright… Mystery Jungle? I will be back before sunset."

He floated up through the ceiling and was gone. I looked around at the rest of the group, "Alright… To be honest, we didn't get any good missions, so the rest of you are training unless you want to go explore with Jade."

I could feel her anger, even though she kept a neutral face, and I knew the other recruits could feel it too, because they all agreed to train today, and began pairing up.

Jade began floating off after shouldering her paint bag, and I followed her up the stairs. When we came to the crossroads, I stopped her. "Jade."

"Yes, sir?" She didn't even turn around, but stopped, and I tilted my head, "What's wrong? The entire team feels your negative vibes."

"I just… don't feel too well. I believe that I may have consumed too many drinks last night."

I shook my head, but I decided to let it slide for now, "Can you at least turn around and look at me? I don't want to be 'that guy', but Connor and I are kind of in charge. Just because you're made the leader after us us most often doesn't mean that you can begin disrespecting us."

She turned around slowly, and her face was a little bit too neutral. She sighed, "Vulcan, I sincerely apologize for my unsatisfactory behavior this morning… I should not let my emotions interfere with my duty as your second in command."

"Apology accepted."

She nodded, and I shooed her away while smiling, "Now, go do whatever it was you planned to do today."

She began floating away, and I started thinking to myself, _What could she be thinking about, that she's acting so… angry?_

 **-Connor's POV-**

After Vulcan followed Jade, I looked back at my group, "Alright team, let's move!"

We all filed out of the Cafe, and Vincent asked, "Can I just teleport us there?"

I shook my head and smiled, "We could use a good walk. Besides, I know that you can learn any move… But teleporting? How does that work? I mean, you're not a psychic pokemon, and paint can't teleport."

"Our paint has magical properties when we use it that's… difficult to explain. But it can do anything."

"Seriously? That's how you can do all that stuff?"

"Of course!"

As we began walking through the different areas, Vincent began looking around, wide-eyed, "Y'know… The sights really do make the trip worth it."

Magnus flew overhead, casting a shadow over Nocturne, who seemed to be deep in thought. I slowed down to even the pace with him, "Hey, Noc, what's got you thinkin'?"

He looked up quickly, "Oh! Um… Nothing…"

I leveled an unconvinced look at him, "Really?"

He waved his arm, "It's stupid. Not really worth talking about."

I smiled, "I thought after you evolved you became like a chatty cathy."

He nodded, "I did… But this is different."

"How?" I raised an eyebrow, and he groaned, "I… I don't know! It just is!"

Vincent called back, "Hey guys, I see sand! We're almost to the Northern Desert!

I looked up at Nocturne, "Hold that thought. Time to focus."

 **-Alice's POV-**

"You coming, Alice?"

Atlas was jogging to the Dojo, and I shook my head, "I actually wanted to check something out first. I'll talk to you later!"

He waved, "Alright! See ya!"

I was so happy that I finally let out my secret crush… But now Jade had a secret, and I wanted to know what it was. I went off to find her, and I looked around. _It's a shame that Roy isn't here… He could probably find her._

Suddenly, my shadow elongated and the idiot ghost cackled, "Hee-hee! You rang?"

I nodded, not really mad at him since I just needed him, "Yeah… But weren't you exploring Mystery Jungle?"

He tilted to the side in midair casually, "Of course! I will. But I decided to loiter, seeing as it won't take me very long once I get there."

I smiled charmingly, "Can you take me to Jade?"

His expression hardened, "You do realize that your so-called 'charming' effects on the other male members don't affect me, right?"

My eyes widened, but I nodded, "Of course…"

He smiled, "For a small payment, I'll find sunshine and take you to her!"

I shook my head, "My payment is not hitting you with a shadow ball. Roy, this is serious stuff! Maybe you don't get it, since you don't have girl problems, but we do… have boy problems."

He smiled slightly, "So violent. So… You're sure that you want to go?"

I nodded, "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

His eyes glowed, and he said, "She's… This way. Grab hold."

I grabbed hold of his streamer-things, and he sunk into the ground. I was in pitch-black darkness for a moment before rematerializing underneath a tree in a mountainous region, and just ahead, a massive cliff loomed ominously in the cloudy sky. The entire area was covered in several feet of snow, and a blizzard was swirling, reducing my visibility by a good amount. Roy shuddered, "I wouldn't face her while she's like this… But then again, she's at least somewhat fond of you. Good luck."

I tilted my head, "Good luck?" But he had already melted into shadows and disappeared. I heard an ear-shattering blast from just ahead, and debris was sent flying everywhere. I waded through the waist-deep snow and saw Jade throwing boulders with psychic and swirling a blizzard. She used thunder, obliterating the nearest tree with hundreds of arcs of lightning while shouting, "DAMN IT!"

She began raising and shattering boulders out of the ground with psychic, then throwing what was left into oblivion after pulverizing the shards with a hyper beam. I called out, "Jade?"

Her eyes glowed like spotlights through the flurry, and the entire blizzard condensed around me, "WHO GOES THERE?!"

I shielded my eyes, "Could you please call off this snowstorm?"

I felt the winds die down, and Jade murmured, "Alice…?"

I looked at her, and she was breathing heavily, on the verge of tears. I said, "I don't need to be able to read minds to know that you're upset."

She paused and asked, "...Why are you here?"

"Like I said: You're upset."

She scowled, "That is not an answer." She seemed to be in deep thought before growling and turning away from me, "Confound it all…"

I waded through the snow, "Jade… What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "It's nothing."

I leveled an unconvinced look at her, "You can't be serious… You just obliterated half a mountain. Something's upsetting you."

She glared at me in response before answering, "...I am weak."

I stared at her, "And how is that?"

"I… It's a personal dilemma."

I shrugged, then suddenly felt a weird pulse of… romantic emotions from her. I shook my head briefly, "Well, you've done good at hiding it so far. ...Is it... boy problems?"

"...Something along those lines, I believe."

I smiled and nodded, "Oooh….. That's-! Okay, that explains a lot."

She sat down in the snow and crossed her arms at me, "Oh, does it?"

I nodded, "So who is it?"

She shook her head, "I… I can't-"

I let out a short laugh, "You think I can't handle boy problems? Are you kidding me?"

She kept her scowl, "You're a Lopunny. You are automatically considered attractive to nearly all male pokemon. 'Boy problems' don't exist for you."

I shook my head slowly and laughed, "Oh, yes they do… But right now isn't about me. It's about you."

She let out a saddened smile, "I despise these situations…"

I placed a hand on her shoulder, or, where her shoulders should be, "Jade… Some girls just are more receptive to romantic thoughts than others, and know how to deal with the sensation better. You… Well, to be honest, you don't tend to _feel_ a lot… You're more of… uh… Never mind."

She shook her head, "You don't understand… I am becoming weak-minded by allowing amorous thoughts to form."

"Actually… I do-"

"No! Just a moment ago, I let my emotions get the better of me because of my internal conflictions. That should not happen. I was weak."

I smiled warmly, "There's a difference between having a heart and being weak."

"...The two are more often than not interconnected at a deeper level than most realize. If I were to have any relationship with anyone outside of being solely team-mates… It would prove to be unwise in the long run of being a team. Because when you allow yourself to care deeply for another on that level, you subconsciously find anything in your power to make sure that they are safe. Even if that means that your own life is put in danger. I cannot allow that to come from me."

I shook my head slowly, "What could have happened to you… To make you unable to feel…? To show emotions…?"

"I'm not willing to share that information."

I sighed, "Alright… That's your decision. But… If that's what all this is about… Then it's going to blow up in your face and make you hate living. Keeping things bottled up does nothing but cause grief, anguish, rage, and a whole bunch of nasty stuff… And you need to take it from me, it's better to not have all that swirling around in your head."

She deadpanned, "I have always functioned well enough without revealing any significant amounts of myself."

"But don't you want to function better? Become a better pokemon? You can't do that if you keep your rage inside you."

"The reason I keep it all inside is because I'd rather it destroy me than everyone else. Letting my emotions affect others simply because I don't want to feel them is a sign of selfishness."

"Not wanting to potentially harm others… Jade, there are some on our team that would be more hurt by seeing you get hurt. You would do well to realize that."

She tried to stare me down, but I kept looking at her until she sighed, "What should I do?"

I shrugged, "It depends. I think it's for you to decide."

She raised an eyebrow at me, "Then what is the point of you being here if you refuse to assist me?"

"If that's the case, then would you prefer if I left?"

"...No. Don't leave."

 **-Connor's POV-**

It was relatively easy sailing through the dungeon. It wasn't that big, or nearly as long as any of the other secret rank dungeons. When we got to the end, which was a massive pit with sandstone walls, open to the sky. There was a flash of light, and a huge, red pokemon that looked as sturdy as a mountain glared down at us. "Seekers of the seven treasures! I am Groudon! Guardian of Shimmering Desert!" Another flash of light, "If it's the treasure you seek… I challenge you to surpass your limits! Tame the land and conquer the earth! Demonstrate your power to me! Now it begins!"

It opened with a flamethrower as the sun beamed down harder overhead. Noc barely got a spiky shield up in time, and Magnus dodged, and Vincent and I used protect. Vincent teleported right up to the Groudon and slashed at it with Shadow Claw. It raised its foot to stomp on him, but he transformed into a Golurk and hefted Groudon back into the wall, then punched its chest with a full-force mega punch. Magnus shot a solar beam, but the Groudon launched a solarbeam of its own, counteracting Magnus'. Vincent punched its chest again while I shot a hydro pump at it, but its tail started to glow, and it slammed Vincent away from it and regained its footing.

While we all had to evade Vincent's massive form coming at us, the Groudon's whole body started glowing the color of lava. The entire ground began quaking, and before we could register what was happening, sharp pillars of stone coated in lava began erupting in a straight line towards us all.

Magnus took to the air, but Vincent stood up and started charging forward again. Groudon's eyes narrowed, and more pillars erupted around Vincent, one of them tripping him, then another stone erupted from the ground, impaling him, the pillar jutting through his back from his chest. He shouted in pain as he sunk further down the pillar, which continued to rise. Nocturne cried out, "Vincent!" But we were both forced to dodge as more pillars of lava-covered stone erupted from the ground.

Then, the Golurk disappeared from the pillar. Groudon's concentration broke, and the precipice blades stopped. He looked around, then Vincent appeared behind him as a Greninja, landing on the Groudon's head and using hydro pump a point blank range, then melting into shadows and re-appearing next to me.

I glared at him, "Don't ever scare me like that again."

He smiled slyly, "Substitutes really do help, huh?" Then he took a deep breath, "They take a lot out of you, though..."

Magnus used magical leaf, then dove as a flamethrower flew right over his head, "You guys just gonna stand there?! Come on!"

Nocturne threw seed bombs in retaliation, stunning the Groudon, then I used Ancient Power, slamming boulders into him while Vincent flew forward as a Smeargle with paint wings, then slammed into him as a Slaking with a double-fisted ground-pound.

The Groudon fell to one knee, but stood back up and swatted Vincent away. Magnus flew in close and used body slam, but Groudon took the attack and knocked him back. I shot a hydro pump at him, but he bellowed a flamethrower, and on top of the intense sunlight, there was no competition. The flamethrower overpowered my hydro pump and I was forced to use protect. Vincent crashed into him again while Nocturne shot a Magical Leaf, but Groudon tanked those attacks too, retaliating with another Precipice blades attack.

We all knew what to do now, so we dodged, Vincent turning into a Braviary and taking to the sky, diving in and slashing at Groudon while we moved in closer. Groudon ran forward, but Noc tripped it with Grass knot, and it ate the dirt. Vincent turned into a Golurk again and landed on Groudon's back, and it went down. There was a brief flash of light, and a small box appeared, with a sandstone-looking texture. Vincent landed on the ground and opened it, revealing the two disk-looking instruments inside. He picked them up, and Nocturne threw down an escape orb.

 **-Vulcan' s POV-**

I was hanging out with Atlas, Caroline, Rose and Mirage, since we were all training today, and got done relatively early. After Connor's group got back and explained the fight with Groudon, I smiled, "Sounds like he was tougher than Uxie's illusion, huh?"

Connor chuckled, "Oh, yeah. His precipice blades decimated us at first, but we nailed it without even using a reviver seed."

I smiled, "That's good."

Shortly afterwards, Jade and Alice came down the stairs. I waved them over, "Welcome back! How did the exploring go?"

Jade smiled, "It went well. Nothing too difficult was presented in the dungeon."

I nodded, "Good. That's good."

After some more discussing and talking, Roy came in through the wall, "Done! And it's just before sunset! Heehee!"

I turned to him, "So what's the plan? What kinds of enemies are we dealing with?"

"There are mainly grass and bug-types, with a few normal and poison types. Sunshine coupled with you, and maybe Magnus, would have no trouble tearing straight through the whole dungeon."

I nodded, "Good. So we'll go with me, Jade, and Magnus… And Roy."

He blinked once, "Pardon?"

"You're exploring with us when we decide to take that dungeon. Your mystical fire will be pretty useful, plus you haven't been on any missions besides reconning since… I think... Sky Stairway? Correct me if I'm wrong."

He shook his head while grinning, "Oh, no, you're correct! I would be more than glad to go!"

I smiled, "Alright! That's settled! Now, I don't know about you guys, but i'm tired. Let's call it in for the night."

Everybody agreed, and Connor and I went back to the bluff, and just went to sleep, not really talking.

 **-Connor's POV-**

"Hey! You two!" We heard a shout right after we came to the top of the stairs at the bluff the next morning. Turning to where it came from, Chatot soared in from overhead. He landed on the ground and was breathing heavily.

I raised an eyebrow, "You got a date, Chatot? What's the rush?"

Chatot tried talking between breaths, "The… beach… at the… beach…"

Vulcan stepped forward, "Chatot, what happened at the beach?"

Chatot took a deep breath and shouted, "Manaphy! Manaphy came back!"

It took a minute for the information to sink in, but when it did, I said, "You mean the one we looked after?!"

Chatot nodded, "Yes! Hurry! To the beach!"

Vulcan began sprinting, and I followed. Chatot flew just ahead, and when we came to the beach, sure enough, the little guy was floating inches above the sand, staring at the ocean. Manaphy turned to us as Vulcan and I moved closer.

Vulcan smiled, "Manaphy… It's good to see you again…"

Manaphy began to cry, "Vulcan… Connor…"

I started to tear up, and Vulcan cried openly. We all got in a group hug, and I murmured, "It really is you…"

Manaphy nodded, "Yup! I grew big and strong in the sea! It's all because of… All because of you, Connor and Vulcan!"

Vulcan sniffled, "You remembered us…"

Manaphy nodded again, "Of course! I didn't forget you! Not once… Not ever… I missed you!" We all hugged again and didn't say anything, just enjoying each others' company.

After a little while, Manaphy asked to see the bluff. When we took him there, he looked around with awe, "Wow… I remember this place… I hatched here, didn't I?"

Connor nodded, "That's right… This is where we came to know each other. Honestly, I'm surprised you still remember that."

Manaphy smiled, "Manaphy have the ability to remember where they hatched. So I've been told. After we grow up in the sea, we go back to where we hatched by instinct. This is where I hatched, so that's why I felt the urge to come back here."

Chatot spoke up, "Well, then… Now that you've returned, what will you do now, Manaphy?"

Turning to Chatot, he said, "I was told I had to decide that on my own." Turning back to us, he began shifting uncomfortably, "Well… I've thought long and hard about it… This, and other things… And I finally decided…. That I want to repay the favor, Connor and Vulcan. Don't you travel and explore all over the world? I really wish I could help you when you go out on your adventures, so… Um… Uh, may I… Please be a member of Team Firestorm?"

I was at a loss for words, just like Vulcan. Manaphy stuttered, "D-Don't worry! I'm grown up! I won't get sick like before!"

I was glad to hear that, but I was still at a loss for words. Manaphy's eyes widened, "...You don't... want me?"

I shook my head frantically, and Vulcan said, "No, that's not it! Of course we want you on the team! Of course we want you to stay with us!" He started crying again, "It's just… we never thought we'd see you again… And now this… this is a lot to take in…" He turned to me, "Manaphy's welcome on the team, right, Connor?"

I nodded, smiling, "Of course!"

manaphy grinned, "Really? Really, I can? Yay! I did it!" He started doing a little dance, "I'll do my best to make you two proud! If you need me, please say so! I'll do my best! I'll go sign up at the guild! He flew up the stairs, and Chatot followed soon after.

Vulcan smiled as he looked out over the ocean from the mouth of the bluff, "Y'know, Connor… For a while, it felt like we'd never catch a break… Y'know, with the whole 'saving the world' stuff. But the future's not looking too bad. We've got our whole lives ahead of us, so let's do our best to make every day count!"

* * *

 _ **Alright! It's been a good run, guys. But it's not over quite yet. Still got an Epilogue coming up, so stay tuned! If you enjoyed my story, go ahead and leave a review or PM! Tell me about your favorite parts, all that fun stuff!**_

 _ **Also, question that I'd like to have answered by more than three people: Who is your favorite Team Firestorm Member so far? Go ahead and let me know!**_

 _ **Also the poll is going to be open until the end of the Epilogue, so have your say on which story you want before it's closed! Much Love!**_

 _ **-PL**_


	35. Epilogue, Part 1: Interrogation Process

**-Epilogue, Part 1: Interrogation Process**

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

It's been a few months since Connor and Vulcan saved the world a second time. Manaphy had come back, Atlas and Alice were pretty solid, relationship-wise, everyone was pretty happy. Although… Jade still hadn't come around to talking to me after the whole thing right before Darkrai. The most she's talked to me is to assign missions, making sure not to put us together, and would always shut down any attempt to talk to her, which kind of made me a little frustrated. But Alice kept telling me to give her space. So that's what I've been doing.

After a couple months of Manaphy being back, he told Connor and Vulcan about this place called the Marine Resort that he found. Connor liked the sound of that, as well as Rose and Vincent, but everybody else had had enough of water dungeons. After Connor came back from the Marine Resort, Cresselia came by and said that Palkia had fixed the distortion of space that they were causing, meaning that they could evolve now.

Connor evolved into a Marshtomp and spent the cool-off days between evolutions bragging about his hands and how he could finally pick stuff up and use his hands. He challenged me to an arm-wrestling contest, to which I actually lost… Marshtomps are way stronger than they look. Then he played rock paper scissors with Atlas, then asked Vincent for a handshake. He was pretty excited from what I could tell, and was like that the entire time.

Vulcan evolved into a Charmeleon. He didn't look that different, but he was bigger, stronger, and faster. Then, after the cool-off time wore off, they went straight ahead and evolved again.

Connor evolved into a Swampert, becoming way larger, and way stronger. He could almost beat Atlas in an arm-wrestling contest, but not quite. His fighting style had changed only slightly, just adding a little more hand-to-hand fighting on top of his normal moves. He adapted surprisingly quickly, being able to use a lot of fighting-type moves exceptionally well, including focus blast. But I still saw him sticking with a lot of the same moves he learned before.

I trained with him once after he evolved. Emphasis on once. He used brick break, and I was sent flying into the opposite wall of the room we were in. I healed myself up with an oran berry, but I didn't really feel like being slammed into a wall like a defenseless punching bag. Plus, he saved up and traded for a Swamp Bangle, which made grass-type moves restore his energy and didn't do any damage to him. And it was a pretty sick-looking bracelet.

Vulcan evolved into a Charizard. At first, he was at a loss for what to do with his wings. It took him a few days to get flying down well enough to where he wouldn't crash into trees or cliffs, which made him a bit frustrated. Vincent laughed and continued teaching him. His flamethrower attack was really overkill since he evolved, so when he was training and facing outlaws, he had to tone it down a lot, unless the opponent was especially tough, and even then, hold it back some.

Then, after that, he had to construct an entirely new fighting style, since he was almost six feet tall, had wings, was a lot bigger, had a longer tail, and his arms were proportionally smaller now, so most of his hand-to-hand combat that he did as a Charmander wouldn't really work all that well anymore. It was slow progress, but he had the whole team's support the entire time.

It took two months of finding new uses for his wings and figuring out how to use his new form to its fullest with help from Vincent, who would transform into a Charizard and help, before he even showed any progress of finding effective fighting styles. Also, that shiny Charizard from Spinda's Café that one night, who was named Amber, appeared out of nowhere and offered her help too. Vulcan readily accepted it, and I saw Connor staring at her as she instructed Vulcan in the Dojo one day about a week and a half ago.

I elbowed him, "You think she's cute?"

He shook his head, "It's not that… It's her name… I can't help but feel like I know it… From somewhere. But no. I would never find a Charizard attractive… Not like that."

I smiled, "Whatever. If you know her, maybe she's another 'human turned pokemon' or something."

Connor lightly punched me, "Psh, no, Maris said that I was the only human in recorded history on this world, and even then, I was from the future. Humans can't exist in this world."

Rose still hadn't evolved, and to be quite honest, I don't think she plans on it. She's become a lethal fighter in her own right after mastering her serpentine form. She can probably take anyone on the team and give them a good fight, including Jade, Connor, Vulcan and Atlas.

Caroline had asked her a couple times when she was going to evolve, but she always said that she didn't want to right now for whatever reason.

Atlas had finally evolved about a month after Connor and Vulcan using a link cable that he received from a mission a few days prior. At first, he was absolutely baffled about what to do with the extra arms coming from his new extra shoulderblades. He wasn't able to coordinate them with his primary arms very well. He had to spend almost as long as Vulcan constructing a new fighting style, but Alice supported his efforts the entire way through. Plus, his strength was insane now. Like, I thought he was strong as a Machoke. A Machamp is a totally different ballgame.

Once he did get some good moves down, he showed me and Vincent. One of his favorite strategies is grabbing the opponent with two of his hands, then using a double dynamic punch to send them flying.

Mirage and Rose teamed up with Maris from Team Core to find a use for the secret slab, which ended up allowing us to find legendaries that were otherwise hidden in everyday mystery dungeons.

Connor said that our team was already pretty solid, type-wise, and adding anybody else right now wasn't necessary. They kept the secret slab anyways, just in case we ever wanted to use it. Also, we hadn't gotten any more secret rank missions after the Mystery Jungle and Bottomless Sea. We got all seven treasures, or, at least, I think we did. But yeah, everything's worked out pretty well so far.

 **-Alice's POV-**

As the months went on, I kept feeling these strange sensations in the back of my head, making me really paranoid, like with the whole thing with Jade, except they kept becoming more obvious. After consulting with Maris, Chatot and Nashoba, the Riolu from team core, I found out that my emotional manipulation was so strong that I could actually read others' emotions, like a Riolu. I didn't know why, and neither did anybody else, but I wasn't really complaining. It would be pretty cool in the future to help in certain instances. It took a lot practice over a long period of time to hone it to make it accurate, though.

Today, we were meeting up in our usual spot in Spinda's Cafe, when officer Magnezone floated up to our table.

*Zzzt! Team Firestorm! Zzzt!*

Vulcan turned to Officer Magnezone, "Oh! Yes, sir?"

*Zzzt! We would like to request your assistance! Zzzt!*

Connor nodded, "Of course. Who're we going after?"

*Zzzt! This outlaw has already been captured by another exploration team. Zzzt! But we do not know if he is the leader of a group of outlaws, or if he is working for a bigger, more dangerous operation. Zzzt! We have been interrogating him for hours, and he still has not revealed anything. Zzzt! And in spite of his typing, our electric attacks have no use, which has us thoroughly baffled and has rendered our usual methods of eliciting information futile. Zzzt!*

Vincent tilted his head, "His electric attacks don't work? Um… What kind of pokemon is it?"

*Zzzt! It is a Bisharp. Zzzt!*

I felt Jade's mood shift into shock, then anger, and Noc looked at her briefly before resting an arm on her shoulder. But she shrugged his hand off after I felt a pained emotional blip coming from her, then sadness.

Roy smiled and floated forward, "So, what are you proposing we do?"

The officer replied, *Zzzt! If any of you can find a means of extracting information from him, any assistance would be greatly appreciated! Zzzt!*

Roy chuckled, "So… An interrogation? How about I just-"

"Roy!" Rose cut him off, "We're trying to get information, not make him jump at his shadow for the rest of his life!"

Roy smiled, "I can do both. All I need is a few minutes alone, and-"

Connor shook his head, "Until we know for sure what he's done, that's a last resort, Roy."

Roy sighed, "...Very well." Then he muttered, "I never get to have any fun anymore…"

I faced the officer, "Officer, you said it was a male, correct?"

Magnezone nodded, *Zzzt! Affirmative. Zzzt!"

I smiled, "I'll give it a go."

I saw Atlas blushing out of the corner of my eye, and I reassured him, "Don't worry. It's strictly for interrogating."

Connor nodded, "We'll be happy to help however we can."

Officer Magnezone turned, *Zzzt! Thank you! Zzzt! Follow me to the police station! Zzzt!"

So we did. We followed him to a mountain in the great mountain range that divided immanis, and he lead us up a cliff, to a barren cliffside. Vincent looked around, "Um… Where's the entrance?"

Officer Magnezone began rotating his magnets, *Zzzt! Precisely. Zzzt! The station is made so no outlaws can break in or out, and only select exploration teams know of its location. Zzzt!* I heard a metallic sound, and a circular entrance appeared in the cliffside, leading into the mountain.

I heard Vulcan mutter something about a mountain in the future to Connor, and he nodded in reply. Officer Magnezone closed the door behind us with his magnets and used flash to light the way. Roy floated ahead, "What do you do with ghost-type outlaws?" He began drifting towards the wall, "I mean, I could slip out of here as easily as one, two, th-AGH!" He floated backwards, away from the wall as dark electricity pulsed along the area that he had just tried to exit through, and officer Magnezone said, *Zzzt! As well as being made of solid stone, a psychic incantation cast by our head of security keeps ghost types in the confines of this mountain. Zzzt! No ghost type can phase through these walls without special permission. Zzzt*

Manaphy floated closer to Vulcan, climbing onto his back, and Roy shifted nervously, "Suddenly, I feel very claustrophobic..."

Atlas said, "So… What are your jail cells made out of? I mean, I could bend or dent just about any material you guys can think of."

*Zzzt! It is psychically reinforced Draconian Iron. The toughest metal in existence. Zzzt! No amount of strength or any blade is able to bend or cut it. Zzzt!*

Vincent whistled, "Sounds like you guys take this place really seriously…"

We passed through several gates on our way down a winding staircase that were manned by an Aggron, Metagross, Probopass and Klinklang.

Caroline groaned, "This place is so big… How long do you guys keep outlaws here?"

Magnezone turned, *Zzzt! I am the judge of that. Sometimes it may be overnight, sometimes for life, depending on the crime. Zzzt!*

Nocturne looked at the cells that we passed, with really tough-looking pokemon in there, most of them spitting slander and carnal phrases towards me, calling me rather immoral things. Atlas clenched his fists and glared at them, but I placed a hand on his arm, "It's fine. They don't bother me."

He relaxed slightly, and Magnezone led us through a bunch of different winding pathways, and he stopped in the front of a massive gate with no openings. It _looked_ like it could withstand Atlas' onslaught, so nobody was getting out of there unless they were let out.

Magnezone turned to us, *Zzzt! This is where outlaws are interrogated. Zzzt! This outlaw is immune to electricity, for an unknown reason. Zzzt! Now, who would like to try first? Zzzt!*

Vincent raised his hand, "I'll go. This place gives me the creeps." He transformed into a Golurk, "Open 'em."

Magnezone explained to knock three times when he was done, and the doors swung open as Magnezone rotated his magnets, drawing the metal towards him. Once Vincent went in, the doors shut. It was hard to tell how much time went by, but after a little while, we heard two knocks and Vincent walked out. He transformed back into a Smeargle, and his expression told me everything I needed to know.

"Didn't go well?"

He replied, "That's Mordred. He's the same Bisharp that Atlas and I beat the snot out of back when you were off with the guild exploring Fogbound Lake."

Behind me, Atlas gasped, "What?!"

Vince nodded, "Yeah. And since he's part dark-type, I couldn't use mind reader, and nothing I said even got his attention. So… yeah… Anyone else wanna give it a go?"

Magnus said, "If he's not talking, then f*** it! Let's beat the answers out of him!"

I looked at him, "Let me have a go at it. I can make him talk without all the violence."

Roy said, "Okay, pleeeease let me go before Alice ruins all the fun?"

Connor shook his head, "No, Roy. We're not."

He looked to the floor, "…You're all a bunch of killjoys, you know that?"

Magnezone instructed me the same way he did Vince, and after the doors closed behind me, I saw the Bisharp. He certainly looked menacing, even with his arms held to his sides. When I walked in, he glanced at me, then let out a short laugh while looking to the ground, "Of course they send a Lopunny…"

"So you were expecting me?"

"You won't get any answers out of me with sweet talk, gi _rl._ " He spat the last word with so much hatred it made my eyes widen momentarily.

I raised an eyebrow, "There's no need for name-calling here, Mordred."

His eyes widened for a moment before he regained his stoic expression and stopped talking. I could feel his surprise, and I continued, "That's right… I know your name, and who you're working for already. Now, just tell me what he wants, and I'll leave you alone."

He opened his mouth slightly, but winced and kept quiet. I looked at the Magneton in the back, who was keeping Mordred's arms at his sides with his magnetism, and I opened my eyes a little bit wider, dilating my pupils and actually activating attract, "Mordred… Will you please tell me? If you don't, then I'll have to get mean, and trust me, you won't like it when I'm mean. Officer Magnezone gave me permission to do whatever I please if you don't cooperate, and I know some pretty painful moves that'll break right through that steel skin of yours."

He stared at me silently with a strained expression on his face. I could tell that I was close to breaking through.

Then, he asked, "So… Who are you working for?"

I reeled back a little bit, "Th-That's not for you to know."

Then, he did something that surprised me. _He_ used Attract, making me blush in spite of myself. He asked again, "So, who's team are you on, miss?"  
I looked at the Magneton, who looked oblivious to the whole thing, and shook my head, "I'm... not telling…"

 _Is this what it feels like when I do that? It's so hard to resist… I'm lucky I use that tactic so much, otherwise I'd give away everything._

Mordred's eyes glowed for a moment before he quickly said, "I'm done here. Magneton, initiate."

The Magneton nodded and began rotating his magnets, *Zzzt! Alert! Alert! There has been a security breach! Alert! Alert! Zzzt!*

Alarms started blaring and flashing red, and I looked back to the door and knocked twice. I waited, but they didn't open. I turned back around as Mordred walked forward casually, with the Magneton at his side, "Well, then… This has been fun, but I've got important matters to attend to. And I can't have you meddling, now, can I? I'll make sure to tell Vulcan you were sorry when I destroy all he loves."

I backed towards the wall, and he extended his metal blades, "Master Victor sends his regards." I used agility and dashed around him, but the Magneton used magnet bomb to latch little metal spheres onto my arms and legs and pin me to the wall, rendering me helpless. Mordred sighed, "This is being delayed too long. Magneton, finish the job. I don't have time for this."

He walked forward, and a Banette phased into the room and grabbed hold, "Welcome back, Master Mordred… We've much to discuss."

Then, they phased into the wall and were gone. After that, I looked back to the Magneton, who began glowing, *Zzzt! Apologies, miss! Zzzt!* Then, the room started to rumble. The Magneton stopped charging his thunderbolt and looked around, and I saw the door being cratered inwards. _Atlas..._

I found myself smiling for a moment, but the Magneton shook itself and turned back to me, *Zzzt! Enough distractions! Zzzt!*

He shot the thunderbolt at me, and I closed my eyes. When I didn't feel anything, I opened my eyes, and I saw the thunderbolt as it arced backwards, inches from my face, into a raised bone club. Vincent, as a Marowak was standing at the freshly made hole in the door with Atlas, who was charging forward, "DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"

The Magneton yelped and tried to float away, but Atlas grabbed it and held all three of its orbs in three of his arms, pulled it apart, and threw it into the opposite wall, making three craters in the solid stone. He turned to me and pulled the metal orbs off of my arms and legs, freeing me from the wall, "You alright, Alice?"

He carried me in his lower pair of arms, and I nodded while looking up at him, "Yeah… Thanks."

He smiled, "Don't mention it."

Vincent handed him his belt, "Here. I don't want you to bring the whole place down on us."

Atlas nodded and put his belt back on with his other pair of arms, "Thanks, Vince."

The whole team poured in through the hole in the door, demanding to know what happened.

"I… I thought I was making progress, when suddenly he just… said that he was done, then told the Magneton to let him go, and it listened. Then a Banette just… phased in, took him, and phased out."

Roy looked to the walls, "Um… Didn't mister Officer say that it was psychically enchanted, or something? To prevent that kind of thing?"

Officer Magnezone looked to the Magneton that Atlas destroyed, *Zzzt! Scanning identity… Zzzt! This Magneton shows up nowhere in our database! How did he get past our security? Zzzt!*

Connor said, "Sounds like Mordred had an inside man… That Magneton must've been in on it. But why not bust him out immediately? Why wait until he had already been interrogated… but not really…?"

*Zzzt! The initial surprise would have been much less if I was not preoccupied with the interrogation process, meaning the possibilities of escape were much greater. Zzzt!*

Atlas glared at him, "Speaking of that, why didn't you open the door once the alarms went off?"

*Zzzt! This Magneton must have been holding them shut, because I could not open them when I tried. Zzzt!*

"You could've gotten her killed!"

*Zzzt! I am aware of that. Zzzt! However, it was beyond my control if it was being held from the inside. Zzzt!*

Atlas set me down and said, "Get us out of here, Vince."

I saw Jade nod in agreement, along with Mirage, Nocturne, and Roy. Vincent said, "Sorry, officer. May you… Lower the barrier for me to teleport us out of here, or…?"

Magnezone nodded and closed his eyes, rotated his magnets, then said, "Proceed with haste. The barrier will be lowered for only a few seconds, and only for your team."

Vince nodded, "Alright, let's boogie!" We all linked hands and were teleported back to the crossroads.

* * *

 **Alright, Epilogue Chapter 1 is up. If you enjoyed this chapter, go ahead and leave a quick review or PM me any questions, comments, concerns, all that! As always, I'll see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 _ **PS- If you're wondering why Magnezone's electric attacks weren't affecting Mordred, it's because he can learn role play from Electivire, then he used role play on Electivire on the sly, making his ability motor drive. You're welcome.**_

 **-PL**


	36. Epilogue, Part II: In the Dark of the-

**-Epilogue, Part 2: In the Dark of the Storm-**

 **-Connor's POV-**

After yesterday's incident, we had decided to give chasing outlaws a break and stick to training and sparring. Alice was still pretty shaken, so Atlas and her just relaxed for the day. After everyone else paired up and went off to the dojo, Nocturne hastily scribbling something onto a sheet of paper and sticking it in his paint bag before he left, Vulcan asked if I wanted to spar, and I raised an eyebrow, "You're at a serious disadvantage, though. You sure you want to fight me?"

Vulcan held a small orb in his hand as we walked up the stairs, "This ought to even the odds."

I looked closely, "Is that the stone Grovyle bought us in the future? The one that lets us "Mega evolve"?"

He nodded, "I still haven't figured out how to use it, but… I'll ask Maris."

I tilted my head, "Where's mine? I want to do that last-stage evolution thing too!"

He laughed, "Not telling!"

"Hey! You can't just-!"

Suddenly, a Crobat snatched up the stone and flew off, away from Treasure Town. Vulcan shouted, "Hey!" He started to run forward, but stopped and said, "Oh, yeah… I can fly…" He took to the air with one quick beat of his wings and flew after the Crobat. I began sprinting after them, and after a little while, I found myself in a forest. A familiar pokemon hopped out of the bushes. "Whoa-ho-ho! Long time no see!"

I rolled my eyes dramatically, "Really… You guys just don't learn…" Koffing, er, Weezing, now, smiled, "Now, now, that's no way to treat an old friend!"

I stood up on my back legs, which was pretty hard to keep balanced, but it made me waaay more intimidating, "Really? Last time I checked, friends don't steal things from each other. And that Crobat… It was Zubat, wasn't it? And where's Skuntank? I know you two are helpless without him."

"...Chaw-haw-haw! You catch on quick! Of course, Vulcan's got a little trap set for him when Crobat flies through." Skuntank walked out from behind a tree cackling.

My eyes widened, "You're not joking…" I started to move past, but Weezing floated in front of me, "Whoa-ho-ho! We can't have you ruining our plan! If you do that, we don't-"

"Shut yer yap!" Skuntank barked. I growled, "You don't what?"

Skuntank glared at me, "None of your business! If you want to know, then you'll have to beat us in a fair and square battle!"

I laughed, "Seriously?"

He smirked, "We're a lot more powerful than last time we met, wimp. We'll mop the floor with you."

I looked at him with an unamused expression, "What trap are you talking about?"

Skuntank scoffed, "As if we'd just tell you!"

I readied Ancient Power, raising the boulders on all sides of them, ready to clamp down, "Last chance. Where is Crobat leading Vulcan?"

Skuntank kept his glare, "Bring it on," and I sighed, "Suit yourself."

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

 _Holy horsea, Crobats are fast…_ I was flying as fast as I could, and I was still losing the Crobat in midair as it soared higher and higher into the clouds. I took off after it, and pretty soon it took off into a massive storm cloud. I hesitated as I watched lightning flash within it, pulsing with light even in the light of day, but I braced myself and flew straight into the storm cloud.

That's when I immediately regretted my decision. As soon as I broke through the cloud's exterior, raging winds were blowing me around like a rag doll, the rain was blinding, the thunder was deafening. I couldn't see or hear, and before I knew it, the rain vanished, and I was surrounded on all sides by a heap of flying pokemon. I hovered in the middle of the pokemon, and looking around, I immediately saw a different Crobat, a Pidgeot, Staraptor, Mandibuzz, Noivern, Hydreigon, Salamence, and even an Xatu. I glanced around, and the new Crobat, a female, said, "Vulcan, son of Iden! Surrender or face our wrath!"

I turned in midair, wreathing my mouth in flames, "Um… Yeah, I've been told that before. It usually doesn't work out for the pokemon threatening me."

The Crobat smiled, "You're hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched. How can you hope to overcome such impossible odds?"

"Well… I'm more of a go with the flow kind of pokemon, and make plans if I know what to expect. I'll admit, I didn't expect an ambush today, but whatever. Let's go. I've beat impossible odds before."

I flew forward and wrapped myself in flames, crashing into the Pidgeot, biting down on its neck and throwing it into the Staraptor. The Salamence launched a Dragon pulse at me, but I slashed the attack apart with a Dragon Claw and tackled it, holding its wings against its body. As we were falling, I used dragon pulse at point blank range and knocked it out of the sky. I turned and used fire punch on the Hydreigon, but it caught my fist in its hand-mouth thing and twisted with a sickening force. I felt a snap and shouted in pain as its other hand-mouth grabbed my neck. It began squeezing. I gasped for breath, but kept constricting, every breath becoming more difficult. Then, out of nowhere, the Crobat said, "Enough."

He grunted and released my neck, but still held me by digging his hand's teeth into my chest. I felt the blood dripping down my chest and falling from the sky, and groaned in pain. The Crobat floated forward, "Vulcan… We've been looking for you... for a long time…"

I managed to say, "What… is your problem with me?

She chuckled, "Oh, it's nothing personal with you… Just your father. I apologize for bringing you into this."

I growled, "I never even knew my-Gak!"

The Hydreigon punched my throat with its free hand, "Silence!"

My arm was broken, and I was being held aloft by a mouth-hand digging into my chest. Fantastic.

My vision was starting to turn red, and the Xatu said, "He is starting to fade… We must go now if we want to execute the next phase."

The Crobat didn't divert her gaze from me, but growled, "...Fine! Bring him with us."

I tried to break the Hydreigon's grip, but its mouth-hands had the grip of Atlas. My struggling only annoyed it. The group started flying away, and I saw the Crobat that lured me into the clouds. It fluttered up to the other Crobat and said, "So… Heh-heh-heh. About our payment…"

The Crobat deadpanned, "Our master has had a change of plans, and your payment has been negated. Sincerest apologies, but you no longer are of any use to us." The Noivern used boomburst on the Crobat at point blank range, and it fell out of the clouds. The Xatu hovered over to me, and I saw its eyes glow briefly before I passed out.

 **-Connor's POV-**

After I wiped out Skuntank and Weezing with a quick Barrage of Ancient Power and Muddy water, they told me the plan, how Crobat would lead him into an ambush, all that. They said that they didn't know anything else, since their employer, the same bisharp from the prison, hadn't given them any details. I had begun flying on a boulder, but I was knocked out of the sky by a Crobat. I caught myself on another boulder just before I hit the ground, and when I looked back, it was passed out on the ground. I tilted my head, "Zubat…?"

Its eyes fluttered open, and it gasped, "Wah! Y-you?!" He flew up, "What're you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

He fluttered just out of reach, "Where's the Chief and Weezing?"

I growled, "I took care of them. Just like I'll flatten you if you don't tell me what happened to Vulcan."

He started, "I don't know, I swear it! They were going to pay a hefty price for us to lure Vulcan into an ambush, then those backstabbing traitors blew me out of the sky without even coughing up a single poké!"

I growled, "You. Come with me."

"But-"

"I didn't stutter. You might have just caused the death of my best friend. I'm being generous by not smashing you with a boulder right now."

Crobat slowly started coming forward, then took off away from me. I sighed and used Ice Beam, flash-freezing him. I caught him before he hit the ground and looked to the sky again as I carried Crobat on my back, "Vulcan… Be safe…"

 **-Vincent's POV-**

After Noc and I got done sparring for the day, we went to Spinda's Café for a drink. We lounged around, talking about plans for tomorrow, and before long, the others started coming in. Caroline, Alice, Jade, Atlas, Roy, and when Connor walked in with a Crobat half-frozen on its back, you could say we were surprised.

I said, "Connor? Where's Vulcan?"

He grimaced, "That's what I want to know. Crobat's got some answers, but he won't tell me."

I tilted my head, "Crobat?"

He nodded, "The punk from Team Skull, just evolved. Same with Weezing. Let's head to the bluff to discuss this."

My eyes widened, and half the recruits in there were confused. I guess that made sense, since we hadn't seen Team Skull around since the bosses found them in Brine Cave. But Atlas, Noc, Mirage, Magnus and I recognized him now.

After Roy thawed him out with Mystical Fire and Connor explained the situation, he gasped, "Waah! Alright, I'll talk! I'll talk!"

Roy smiled, "Aww, come on… Withhold some information, pleeeease?"

Connor growled, "Enough, Roy."

Roy smiled jokingly, "Oh, come on, why the long-"

"I SAID ENOUGH!" He shouted, startling all of us. We all backed away and he turned to the wall slowly and punched it with enough force to shake the ground itself, making a massive crater in the stone while breathing heavily. I could hear his pulse if I listened closely, so I knew he was trying to stay calm, and the controlled rage we saw masked the absolute maelstrom going on inside. Jade floated forward, "Connor… Are you alright?"

He growled sarcastically, "Naw, my best friend was just kidnapped and I have no clue who did it, I've never been better!"

Mirage stepped forward, "Hey, Connor, she didn't do anything. We're all upset that Vulcan's missing, but that's no reason to be mad at us."

Magnus nodded, "For Arceus' sake, you're being annoying."

He rolled his eyes and turned to the Crobat, "Names. I need names."

The Crobat nodded, "I can do names!" Then he looked at me, "You read minds?"

I nodded, "I can."

He nodded, "All the more reason to believe me! The Smeargle can vouch for my honesty!"

Connor let out a cold laugh, "Huh. Honesty from you is about as good as Tauros sh-"

Alice stepped forward, "Connor, that's enough! You need to calm down!" As she said this, a wave of calm washed over me, and I could see it in the rest of the recruits as well. Even Magnus laid down and relaxed.

Connor shook his head briefly, "Y-You're right… Sorry, guys."

Caroline smiled, "It's alright. We just need to stay calm and figure this out! You said you needed names?"

Connor nodded, "That's right. Who hired you?"

Crobat stammered, "S-some Bisharp named Mordred! We came to him after hearing about some operation that was taking in our kind of exploration teams!"

Mirage buzzed closer, "And that would be…?"

He replied, "We're crooks! Con-men! Whatever! This group takes them in! We heard about them from Team Veros and we wanted to see what all the hubbub was about!"

Connor nodded, "Where were they?"

"I-I can take you to where we met them!"

Connor nodded again, "Vincent, follow him. Then come straight back."

I nodded, "Can do!" The Crobat fluttered up, and I said, "You'd better behave and not lead me to a trap, if you know what's good for you."

Crobat quickly nodded and replied, "O-Of course…"

Connor smirked, "Where's all your confidence now?"

Crobat replied, "I realize that I'm outnumbered twelve to one, and know that I'd be better off listening to what you said. Heh-heh-heh."

I turned to Connor, "You sure he won't try to lead me into an ambush?"

"Well, the group he was working for backstabbed him and knocked him out of the sky, and he actually did fall out of the sky, and you can take him easily if he does try anything, so…"

"Good point," I said.

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

"Ooooooogggh…."

 _Oh, man… My head's killing me…_

A froggish, somewhat raspy voice echoed, "You're awake. How convenient."

I opened my eyes and saw a weird-colored Toxicroak walked into the room, "I was wondering when you'd wake up."

I started to sit up, but my arms were chained to the wall, and my left arm exploded in pain, causing me to shout out. The Toxicroak stepped back, "Now, there's no need for the yelling."

I opened my mouth to use flamethrower, but the Toxicroak suddenly sped up and hit my gut. I groaned and fell to the ground, and he growled, "Don't try anything. You're at my mercy now."

I gritted my teeth and glared at him, but stayed down. He stepped back slightly and withdrew his hand spikes, "Good. I was hoping that you'd cooperate. Not all of our group is as cruel as Mordred or Zorro. Of course, we're all just as cunning and manipulative, if not more so. You won't last a day here if you're a faker."

I nodded and asked, "So is this an interrogation?"

He clasped his hands together and smiled, "On a different note, I should probably introduce myself. My name is Talis. Leader of Team Veros. Not to be mistaken with Team Virus. I _might_ have caused your Machoke's shoulder injuries a few weeks prior to your evolution a few months ago. Apologies for that."

I stayed silent, and the Toxicroak smirked as he knelt down in front of me, seeming to inspect me, "So… What did you do to make Victor want to get rid of you?"

I growled, "I didn't do anything! They just… Ambushed me and brought me here!"

He nodded and sat down a few feet from me, "Well… I-" Suddenly he stopped as a Banette floated through the wall next to me and said, "Talis, there have been new orders from Master Mordred."

He nodded, "What is it?"

"We're ready to execute the next phase." the female voice replied.

I tilted my head in confusion. _Next phase…? Who are all these guys? And what did I do to them?_

The Banette smiled, "You fool… Your precious team won't know what hit them…"

I growled, "They'll find me and get me out of here. You don't know what they're capable of."

The Banette cackled, "Heh… Heh-heh-ha-HA-HA-HA! Oh, on the contrary, Vulcan! We know more about your team than even you do!"

I growled, "What makes you think that?"

She wiped a shadowy tear from her eye, still giggling, "Oh, that Froslass is one prime example..."

"Jade?"

The Banette nodded slightly, "Yes, that one… Well, you see… Oops, I almost let it slip! We're supposed to be confidential about all of this! Oh, well! Guess it'll have to wait!"

I growled and began to get up, but winced at my arm, and she said, "Oh, we'll get that healed up right away! It won't do for you to be injured!"

"What? I don't understand-!"

She shushed me, "Shh~ You will in time… Everything is made clear with a little bit of time here and there..." Her eyes glowed, and I passed out again.

 **-Vincent's POV-**

"You're kidding me, right?" I turned to the Crobat with a scowl.

"No! I swear, this is where we met them! They had a whole mini-town and everything!"

As I stared at the desolate wasteland spread out in front of me, I used mind-reader to make sense of what was going on.

 **I… I know it was here… I know it was! Where'd it go?! I could've sworn-! Chief led Weezing and I in right over there… But...**

I nodded, "I believe you, but I don't know how Connor would react to you leading me to a dead end, even if it wasn't when you met with them."

"Me neither. So… How about you just let me go, and we'll call it even?"

I stared at him, "Call what even?"

"Your leader took me captive! Last I checked, I'm not an outlaw, and holding a member of another exploration team captive is against the law! If you let me go now, I won't have your leader arrested!"

I smiled, "What, you can't do it yourself?"

He glared at me, "I didn't say that, it's just… It's the officers' jobs to arrest bad pokemon!"

"Then they've been doing a pretty bad job if you're still around."

"Heh-heh-heh. Keep talkin'. We've kept our noses clean… For the most part."

I sighed and looked at the land again, "Fantastic… Well, Back to square one."

Crobat looked around, then back at me, "So… What d'you think?"

I stared at him "About what?"

"About letting me go."

"Out of the question."

"Why not?!"

"Because that's not for me to decide."

Crobat huffed, "Fine. I know you'll just catch me if I do try to make a run for it."

"You got that right." I grabbed hold of him and teleported us back to Sharpedo bluff.

* * *

 **Here we go. It's sort of picking up. What happened to Vulcan? Nobody knows except me! Hee-hee! Anywho, hope you enjoyed, as always, and go ahead and leave a quick review or PM if you did! I'll see you all in the next update. Much Love!**

 **-PL**

 **-PS: The poll only has four votes. I want at least eight before I start working on the next story! Be sure to vote! The poll is on my profile.**


	37. Epilogue, Part III- Finale, Part 1

**-Epilogue, Part 3: Finale, Part 1-**

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

My vision was blurred, and I felt like I was experiencing the mother of all hangovers. I saw a shape float in front of me, then my vision cleared up. I was standing in a cell with the Banette from earlier, with one side opened to what looked to be two pokemon fighting.

I tried to use flamethrower on her, but the Banette raised a protect barrier and wagged her finger, "No, sir. We will have none of that here. Now, observe…" I walked forward towards the commotion, and the Banette floated beside me, "Do you like what you see, Vulcan?"

I observed the two pokemon through the metal bars, an Emboar and a Pangoro, fighting for what looked like their lives in front of a moderately large group of pokemon, all cheering them on. The Emboar rushed forward and tried to grapple the Pangoro, but it sidestepped and slammed it into the ground.

The Emboar rolled and got up, then proceeded to try and punch the Pangoro. The Pangoro backhanded the Emboar with almost no effort, knocking it into the wall. I tilted my head, "Why doesn't the Emboar use any fire-type moves?"

The Banette cackled, "This is a fighting arena called Beat Up. There are no items or moves permitted. Only skill and strength."

I turned back to the Emboar, who was put into a chokehold, and asked, "What happens to the loser?"

Then, the Emboar stopped struggling and fell to the floor, unmoving. My eyes widened, and the Banette replied, "That. There is no room for the weak here. Only the strong and those close to the leaders can become members of the Mafia."

I quickly stepped back and looked around, "What is this place?"

The Banette began floating into the wall, "You're next. Prepare yourself."

I saw the Pangoro kick the Emboar's limp body to the side of the arena, then walk out through the exit on the other side. I started freaking out slightly, "Hey, I didn't sign up for this! I don't want to-!" My sentence was cut short by a massive clanging sound. The gate began lifting up, and I heard cheering roar throughout the chamber. I walked out into the harsh light, my eyes narrowing to adjust. I tried to ignite my hands, but with no avail. I tried to bellow a flamethrower, but nothing happened. I looked around at the audience, the spotlights shining on the somewhat small arena, making it impossible to tell how many pokemon were watching.

I turned once I heard another gate being opened. A Poliwrath walked into the stage, raising his arms, sending the audience into an uproar.

I snarled, "Hey, I didn't sign up for this! I don't want to hurt you!"

He knelt down into a fighting stance, "Hmph. Brace yourself, boy."

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

"You took us to a dead end?!" Connor roared. Manaphy started tearing up, "Stop yelling, please!"

Connor turned to him and his eyes widened for a moment before he said, "I'm sorry, Manaphy… I'm just… really… really mad... right now…"

Manaphy nodded, "I understand… But there's no need to yell. We're all upset that Vulcan's missing."

Vincent seemed to be in deep thought, so I tapped his shoulder, "Poké for your thoughts?"

He shrugged, "I want to go back. I think that there's something there that we missed."

"I agree. Something doesn't add up." I raised my hand, and Connor looked at me, "What?"

"Vincent and I think that there's more to that place than meets the eye. We want to go back."

He paused, then nodded, "...Alright. We'll go back and investigate in a few days. No point in sending us all right away. Besides, we should probably designate a group-"

Crobat cleared his throat, and Connor rolled his eyes, "This'd better be good."

Crobat gulped, "Oh, it is. If you don't show up with everything you've got, and they are there, you'll lose against them.. I saw only a little bit of their group, and let me tell you… You're outmatched. And I don't say that lightly. You guys are really somethin' else. Heh-heh-heh."

Connor looked to the ground, then angrily said, "Fine! We'll go visit that place again. Crobat, go back to Weezing and Skuntank, and tell them to leave us alone, unless they feel like getting their butts whupped."

Crobat warily began backing towards the mouth of the bluff, "A-alright! I will!"

He took off, and Rose smiled, "That was the right thing to do, Connor. Letting him go."

Connor grabbed at the sides of his head in anguish, "Well, why does the right thing always feel so wrong?!"

Jade replied, "I believe that you and Vulcan discussed this when you gave Manaphy to Walrein. The right thing and what you want isn't always the same. It is proven in several aspects that it rarely is. Most of the time, the right thing involves sacrifice."

Connor shook his head slowly, "That's not-"

"It is not what you wanted to hear, I am aware. You wanted some consolation. Some justification for doing the right thing. But what you want and what you need to hear are two different things. I am not here to make you 'feel good.' I am your strategic advisor."

Connor threw his hands into the air in exasperation and said, "I… I did not expect you to say that." He walked to the mouth of the bluff and looked out at the ocean. He took a few deep breaths and turned around, "Alright… Team, we're going to get Vulcan back at dawn. So rest up and stock up on items."

 **-Mordred's POV-**

"Larua, how is the procedure going?"

She smiled maniacally, "It requires a little bit of softening up… His mind is strong… I am having to call in Gunther and Aether just to break the surface. The Poliwrath didn't last as long as I thought he would, so we have had to take… extra measures."

I extended my metal blades, "Softening up? I can do that."

I slammed the doors open to the room that Vulcan was chained up in and casually walked into the stone grey room, only lit by the fire on his tail. He looked up and growled, "Mordred…"

I sneered, "Vulcan."

"I suppose you're here to torture me?"

I smiled slightly, "I just need to soften you up. Y'know, to make this whole thing go smoother."

My blade began glowing white as I readied false swipe, "But… Torture works, if you want to call it that."

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

After Connor dismissed us, we all began stocking up on items and stuff. Jade withdrew some ribbon thing, I grabbed my sandy scarf, then turned to Alice, "Hey, can you come with me for a second?"

She raised an eyebrow, but followed. I stood behind one of the tents and knelt down slightly, making sure to keep it at a whisper, "Hey, you've been keeping up with Jade, right?"

She let out a short laugh and smiled gently, "Now is seriously not the time, Noc."

"Well, why not?"

She placed her hand on her chin sarcastically, "Oh, I don't know… Maybe Jade is psyching herself up for this super important mission tomorrow, and will be even crankier than normal until we succeed?"

I sighed, "...Never mind."

She placed a hand on my shoulder, then withdrew her hand, "Ow!"

I shrugged and smiled momentarily, "Shoulder spikes. Sorry."

She rubbed her hand, then turned back around, "I seriously don't know, Noc. She's been tearing herself up about this whole thing. I don't know how she can take the emotional strain. I've tried talking to her so many times, but she doesn't do anything afterwards. Just… goes back to being her normal self."

I let out a lengthened breath, and she giggled, "What do you want to say, Noc?"

"Nothing."

She crossed her arms, "I can sense emotions. You're lying."

"But I'm a dark-type. Vincent can't-"

"So? You still have feelings, just like any other pokemon! And for once, I can do something that that do-it-all can't!"

I took out a piece of folded up paper, "...This is for her. It's… a gift."

She stared at the little piece of paper, "A letter?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I was wanting to give it to her today since I just finished it, but I didn't know all this crazy stuff was going to happen."

She grinned, "Aww, that's so cute! I wish Atlas would've thought of that!" Then she looked at my hand, "How'd you write with no fingers?"

I extended a single slender, dull spike from my hand, "I write with this."

She gasped, "That's so cool!"

I smirked, "I know. Granted, my handwriting isn't the best. But I wanted your advice with this whole thing."

She shrugged, "Can it wait?"

I looked to the ground, "I… I guess-"

"Wrong answer! The answer always has to be no! Love can never wait! You've got to grasp it before it's gone!" She grabbed my hand and began dragging me out, "Let's go!"

I tried to resist, but she had an iron grip on my wrist, so I had to go along with it. When we came up to Jade, she looked at Alice, then at me, then turned around, seeming to piece together what was happening in a split moment, "Not now, Alice. I cannot allow myself to be distracted for this mission."

I reached my hand out, "Wait-"

She turned back to me slowly, with an unamused expression on her face, and I rummaged through my paint bag, but the letter wasn't there. "Where…" I looked around, "...Crap."

Jade began floating away, "Alice, tell Nocturne that if he wishes to speak with me immediately before an important mission, to do so clearly and with purpose."

Alice stared incredulously at her, "Seriously?"

Jade melted into shadows without response, then was gone. Alice turned back to me, "What happened? Where's the letter?"

I pointed over to where we were, "I dropped it on our way here, I think."

Alice threw her hands into the air in exasperation, "Wow. Jade's seriously cranky when she's getting serious. That was the rudest thing she's ever said to any of us! And to you, of all the freaking-!" She took a deep breath and growled/laughed, "Sorry… I just get really into all the romance stuff."

I looked to the ground, "It's alright… At least we can talk to you about all that stuff without you being all chatty cathy about it." I walked back to the tent Alice and I were talking behind, then followed my steps. Sure enough, the letter was in the grass. I picked it up, then put it in my bag. I looked into the darkening sky after a moment, "Well… It's getting kind of late. Let's get some sleep, Alice."

 **-Connor's POV-**

After we all went to sleep and woke up the next morning, we came to the wasteland that Vincent was brought to by Crobat. It took almost the entire day, since Vincent couldn't teleport us there for some reason. Nothing interesting really happened along the way, except when Nocturne kept checking his treasure bag every few minutes. I looked around, "Well, we're here…"

Nocturne nodded, "Now what?"

I walked forward and saw a strange ripple of light to my left. I looked over to it and said, "I think I saw something…"

As I walked over to where I saw the ripple, a medicham appeared in front of me and knocked me back with force palm. Roy fired a shadow ball, but the Medicham dodged and fired a focus blast at Vincent, then dug into the ground. I looked at the team, and Mirage tilted her head, "What…? Where did the Medicham come from?"

I felt the ground beneath me shake, and a steelix erupted from the ground. It slammed me with Iron Tail, knocking me into Nocturne, his spikes drawing blood where they pressed into my skin. Vincent tried to launch a stun seed at it, but the projectile dissolved in midair, into nothing but shadows. I started to get up, but when I did, the wasteland was replaced with a massive ocean. Mirage, Roy, Jade and Magnus flew above the waves while Vincent turned into a Wailord and the rest of us climbed onto his back. He looked around and began swimming, "So… What's this pokemon's deal? Medicham? They can't make illusions or cause nightmares, right?"

I shook my head, ignoring the stinging from the puncture wounds on my back, "It transformed into a Steelix… Probably a Ditto. But… Where is it now?"

As soon as I asked, a Gyarados leapt out of the water and tried to snatch Mirage right out of the air. Magnus body slammed it and Roy launched a shadow ball, knocking it back into the water. I leapt off of Vincent and dove down after it, but suddenly the water turned crimson red, and I felt a stinging sensation in my eyes. I came back up out of the water, and it was a blood sea all around me.

Vincent had turned into a Braviary and was carrying Nocturne and Alice, the thick red liquid dripping off of all of them, Magnus was carrying Caroline in a vine whip cradle, Roy was holding Rose with Psychic, and Atlas was held aloft by Jade's psychic as well.

I continued swimming, and I saw storm clouds gathering overhead. I dove back into the water and dove down. I kept going, weaving through all of the debris that suddenly popped up, narrowly missing my sides. Then, I saw the Gyarados. It was curled up on the seafloor. I swam to it and used aqua jet, then used stone edge to impale it, shouting, "Stop this!"

Then, the Gyarados vanished, and we were back in the wasteland. I turned to see a black and red pokemon standing there with red claws, snarling at us. It started to back away, but Roy flew forward and used nightmare, and it collapsed to the ground. "There. Good riddance, that illusion was annoying. Blood everywhere. Make it something a little less gory next time."

His eyes started glowing, and the Zoroark started quivering in its sleep. As Roy did that, buildings started to materialize from nothing. I smiled, "The Zoroark was hiding the base! Let's go!"

We started charging forward as the sun began setting behind us, but were stopped by a lineup of pokemon, all of them looking pretty powerful, about twenty yards away. There were what looked to be at least four teams. The Lineup consisted of a Toxicroak, Haunter, Skorupi, Krookodile, Shiftry, Blastoise, Gigalith, Seviper, Klinklang, Haxorus, Houndoom, Crobat, Salamence, Mandibuzz, Staraptor, Hydreigon, Pangoro, Drapion, Weavile, Arbok, and at least six pawniard that I could count. The Bisharp from the prison stepped forward from behind them, "Ah, Team Firestorm! We've been expecting you for a while! Come to reclaim your leader?"

Roy leaned closer to me, "Um… Connor, I think we're outnumbered... and outclassed. Just as Crobat said."

Atlas cracked his knuckles and grinned, "Please, I can take down almost all of them with three arms tied behind my back!"

Magnus smirked, "Not if I get there first!"

I turned to them, "Quiet!" I looked back to Mordred, "Where is Vulcan?"

He smiled cruelly, "Now, if I told you that, it'd ruin the fun! And we don't want that! Instead, let's do a compromise! You in exchange for the Charizard!"  
I stepped back, "Uh… What?"

"You heard me. You turn yourself in, we let Vulcan go."

Jade placed a hand on my shoulder, "Connor, it would prove unwise to give yourself in like this. We don't even know if they have Vulcan at all."  
I scowled, "But what if they do?"

Magnus said, "Then we kick down their f***in' door and take him back! I'm not gonna let you turn yourself in! That's retarded!"

I turned back to Mordred, "...I refuse."

He raised his arms in exasperation and turned to the Houndoom, "Can you believe this team, Rogue? A bunch of pokemon that pretend that they care about each other! 'I won't let you turn yourself in', what a load of tauros." Then he looked back to me, "Is that your final answer? As the ghost said, you're outnumbered and outclassed."

I opened my mouth, about to reply when a new voice called out, "Oh, they are not alone."

A Greninja materialized from the shadow cast by the nearest building and did a ninja pose, "Nor outclassed."

A Riolu was teleported in front of me with a Kirlia, and a Blaziken dropped down from midair and growled, "It's showtime."

Mordred wavered slightly, but pointed forward, "Charge! Destroy Team Hope and Team Firestorm!"

The entire group rushed forward, and a massive wall of flames separated us all. We all stumbled backwards, and four more pokemon appeared. A Volcarona carried a Gallade, and Maris the Delcatty appeared in front of us next to Quint. Quint turned to us, "Well, it looks like we weren't too late after all."

Mordred growled as the flames died down, "...Blast it all! All of you, go! Destroy them!"

He started sprinting back and vanished into the village. Team Hope and Team Core lined up next to us, and Quint looked to Nashoba, "Just like old times…"

Nashoba nodded, "Agreed." He turned to his team, "Shinobu, focus on the Houndoom-"

"That one's mine," I said. Nashoba paused momentarily, "Focus on the Gigalith." Shinobu started charging a Water Shuriken and melted into shadows as he said, "Yes, sir."

Nashoba looked to the Kirlia, "Cosmo… Nagini is yours."

She smiled, "With pleasure!" She teleported away, and he said, "Zenith, the Shiftry."

The Blaziken smirked, "Alright… Let's do this."

Quint said, "Lucerna, incinerate the Pawniard. They are annoying in large numbers. Maris…" She smiled, "I'll be on support."

He nodded, "Seth, you decimate anyone who gets in your way." Seth was enveloped in a purple sphere and mega-evolved, then got ready to fight.

I turned to my team, "The same applies to all of you! Do your best to take everyone down that crosses your path!" Atlas smirked, Vincent transformed into a Lucario and sprinted forward while the rest of my team stood their ground.

I threw most of the enemies off balance with ancient power, heaving the ground around where they stepped, and they were sent sprawling when Team Core and Team Hope connected their attacks. I ran forward and shouted, "For Vulcan!"

* * *

 **Bam! First part of the finale! Thanks for all the support so far, guys! Let me know what you think of it so far with a quick Review or PM! The Poll is still open, so be sure to vote on it if you want a say in which story is selected! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	38. Epilogue, Part IV: Finale, Part 2

**-Epilogue, Part 4:**

 **-Connor's POV-**

Mirage, Alice, Rose and Atlas sprinted past me as we charged headfirst into the group that had rallied against us, Atlas decking the Pangoro and throwing it through a building and Mirage using dragonbreath on a Salamence. Lucerna vaporized all of the Pawniard with a single inferno attack, and I tackled the Houndoom. She stabbed my side with her pointed tail and scratched at my stomach, but I held fast and used brick break on her face. I growled as I looked her right in the eyes, "You're gonna tell me what Mordred did with Vulcan." She spat, "I will say nothing to you."

I raised my fist again, but I was knocked to the side by the Staraptor who used brave bird. I got back up, but the Houndoom leapt onto my back and bit down on the back of my neck. I roared and tried to shake her off, but she held on fast and used slash on the back of my head. I collapsed to the ground, and she began trying to bite the side of my face.

I used muddy water, slamming my fists into the ground and making a geyser that swamped the ground.. I stood up in the water as it knocked the houndoom off balance and used hammer arm to send her flying. She crashed through a building in the village, and I ran forward, grabbed her again and said, "Where's Vulcan?"

She managed to kick me off and used smog at point blank range. I backed away and coughed up the poison, and the Houndoom began to flee. I got up and began sprinting after her, "Oh, I don't think so."

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

My eyes shot open with a start, "Gah!"

I found myself bound to a wall, my entire body scratched up and bleeding in more places than I could count. I tried to superheat my hands, but the chains held fast, and I quickly stopped as a Bisharp walked in calmly and said, "Vulcan… Have you-"

I didn't even hesitate as I shot a flamethrower directly at him. He crossed his arms and a blue protect barrier appeared. He chuckled as he continued walking forward, "You really are as predictable as Koumori said. But I'll tell you what-

"Save it." I snarled. "I already know what you're trying to do, Mordred, But I'll just tell you now… It won't work!"

He knelt down to me, "Do you really believe that? There is more to most than meets the eye." He stood up, "You see, we wanted to get rid of you, to get back at your father for stealing our glory however many years ago that was. But… Whether it be by luck or merely coincidence, you met Connor, the all-powerful human from the future... and formed a practically invincible team. Team Firestorm. You've gained quite the reputation throughout Immanis. So much so that you've managed to capture our attention. And that is not easily accomplished."

He stepped back and spread his arms, "Of course, we have been observing you since the beginning. Since before your little mind could even conceive the idea of who we were. We know more about your team than even you do."

I decided to play it cool, "What makes you say that?"

He looked at me for a moment before waving his arm and turning away, "Larua, continue."

The Banette from before floated through the wall, and I glared at her, "Don't come any closer."

She cackled, "Or what? You're going to burn me? I won't let a little fire scare me. It never has, never will."

Her eyes glowed, and my vision went dark.

 **-Mordred's POV-**

I stared at the unconscious Charizard after Larua finished the operation a few minutes later, "Wake up!"

His eyes snapped open and I said, "You listen to me now. Do you understand?"

The Charizard nodded slowly, "Understood, sir…" Then he looked around, "But... where am I?"

"That does not concern you. The pokemon out there are trying to kill all of us, and we took you in. We want you to help us drive them away, before they kill us all."

He nodded, "Yes, sir. Now, may you release me from my bonds?"

I motioned for Talis the Toxicroak to release him, and he rubbed his wrists as he fell to the floor, "This is all so new to me… What is my name?"

"Your name is Vulcan."

He nodded slowly again, "Vulcan… Yes, I recall now."

Laura put him to sleep momentarily at my command, and I asked, "So the hypnosis was successful?"

She nodded, "Yes sir. His memories are eradicated and replaced with the ones I planted. He does not know who Team Firestorm is. Everything you've told him, he believes with every fiber of his being. He is no longer the Vulcan that Connor, Master Victor, the troublesome Wigglytuff, or anybody else knew. His very being serves you now."

I smiled, "Master Victor will be pleased with this news… Wake him up." Vulcan shot awake again, and I said, "Now… Let's get going, shall we?"

 **-Connor's POV-**

I pinned down the Houndoom as it tried to run away, "WHERE IS VULCAN?!"

She growled, "I… Will not- Urk!" I picked her up by her neck with one hand and ripped a chunk of rock out of the ground, then slammed it into her face, letting go and sending her flying. I walked forward again after catching my breath from using superpower, "One more time… I don't think you can take another hit like that. Where is he? I know your group has him."

The Houndoom stood up shakily and glared at me silently, and I sighed, "Suit yourself." I slammed my fists into the ground, causing an earthquake, knocking her off balance, then I shot her with a Hydro Pump, blasting her into the nearest building, and it collapsed on top of her.

I started moving again, when suddenly the ground at my feet exploded, and Vulcan slammed into the ground from mid-air. He glared right at me, "You..."

I smiled, "Vulcan! Thank Arceus, we-"

He flew forward, catching me off guard and slashed across my chest with a Dragon Claw. I backed away as the blood dripped down and stared at him in shock, but he kept advancing, radiating the red and blue aura of Dragon Dance. I had to keep using protect as he pressed me against the closest building and I shouted, "What the-?! Vulcan! Quit it! It's me, Connor! What're you doing?!"

He continued to press with his attacks, and I used Ancient Power to put some distance between us while I caught my breath. I slammed him into the ground and ran back to Jade, "What's gotten into him?!"

She shook her head, "I… I don't know…" She began floating backwards, "Connor… I do not stand a chance against him. This battle is between you and him."

I nodded, fully understanding the situation "Go find Mordred or something. Get out of here."

Vulcan stood up and bellowed a flamethrower at me, "GROOOOOH!" And flew forward insanely fast. I wound up for a focus punch and shouted, "Vulcan! Don't..." He kept coming, and I hit his chest with my full strength, sending him flying back through the building, which collapsed onto him as well. He burst out of the rubble and roared again, stepping past the burning, splintering beams of wood.

Jade floated in front of me, showing no fear in staring him down, "Vulcan, please, do not-"

"Out of my way!"

Her eyes widened as Vulcan's mouth was wreathed in flames, and she began condensing a ball of snow in her hands, "Vulcan… Please… Don't make me do this…"

He smirked, "You don't have the nerve…"

She glared at him, "Try me. I will not roll over and accept defeat."

He was surrounded by a purple sphere, and when it broke, his skin was pitch black, and his wings were navy blue, with spikes coming out of the ridges on top. He launched a fireball at Jade, and she shot her ice ball. Her attack was immediately overpowered, so she melted into shadows just before the fire blast hit her, and I leapt forward, grappling Vulcan's wings, wrapping my arms around him and squeezing, "What has gotten into you?! Snap out of it!"

He slammed right above my right eye with his spiked elbow and roared, "You! I… Let go of me!"

I closed my eye as I felt the blood drip down my face, "Not until you chill out!"

Instead of complying, he superheated his skin, forcing me to let go, then used power-up punch to send me soaring.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Koumori flying away, and I shouted, "Mirage! Magnus! Roy! Anyone! Somebody stop Koumori! We need her to find Mordred!"

Mirage dodged a dragon pulse launched by a Salamence, "A little busy at the moment!"

Magnus roared, "This f***in' bastard won't stop launching flamethrowers! Son of a-!"

I didn't hear what came next as Vulcan slammed me into the ground again, then drug me along the ground as he dug his claws into my neck. He slammed me into the nearest building and opened his mouth as he held me by my neck against the wall, "You want to know the difference between you and I?"

I took a deep breath and threw him off balance with Ancient Power, but he just took to the air and continued speaking, throwing me to the ground and stomping on my stomach, "You're too nice. You don't want to kill another pokemon."

I shot a hydro pump at him, but he bellowed a flamethrower and began burning my flesh. "That's why you'll lose… You can't win against me, because you don't want to kill me."

I used protect and used that time to try and talk to him, "You're right about one thing… I don't want to kill you, Vulcan… But… If I have to… If it comes down to that, then I will! But please, try to see that I'm here!"

He blinked heavily and shook his head, his pupils dilating for a moment, but then he growled again and continued his assault. My protect shield timed out, and I used hydro pump. He stumbled backwards, and I followed up with a mud bomb, but he took to the air and flew right out of reach of the attack. He took a moment to wipe the water off of his face, when suddenly Mirage flew up to him, "Vulcan!"

He swiped at her with a Dragon Claw, but she flew backwards a short distance, seeming to teleport, "Come on! I just-!"

He used dragon pulse, and she was knocked out of the sky. I saw Vine whips catch her limp form, and a Reviver seed flew out of my backpack over to her. But I couldn't focus on that. Vulcan dove down again and tried to use dragon rush, but I readied superpower and grabbed his horns mid-attack and slammed him into the ground. He wrapped his tail around my leg, which made me stumble, then used low sweep to knock me over.

Then he slashed my face again, this time actually scraping my eye. I roared in pain, half-blinded, and used earthquake, but he flew into the air and used sunny day. The night sky turned into daytime, and I felt my skin start to dry out as he hovered in the air. Then, he started charging an attack, and I gasped, _That's solarbeam!_ Before I could attempt to dodge, he shot the beam of light at me. I tried to throw up a protect barrier, but it fizzled out and vanished. _Of all the times for it to fail!_ I crossed my arms to brace for impact, only able to think about one thing. _This is gonna hurt…_

Then, after a moment of feeling nothing, I opened my eyes, and Nocturne was crouching behind a spiky shield, protecting me. "Did I miss anything?"

I nodded, "No, not at all..." He lowered the barrier and Vulcan used inferno. Noc ducked behind a spiky shield again, and I used Mirror Coat, reflecting the flames right off of me harmlessly. Vulcan dodged and Noc used magical leaf. Vulcan tried to outfly them, but they still hit him, but he didn't look fazed at all.

He glared down at Nocturne, who glared back, and I asked, "Noc, what're you doing? Get out of here!"

He turned to me, "I'm all out of Spiky Shields… And I won't last long at all against Vulcan. But… I'll do my best. " He used mean look, and Vulcan was immobilized. He fell out of the sky, and after he broke eye contact, Noc rushed forward and used feint attack, but Vulcan caught Noc's arm mid-swing and used fire punch on his face, sending him flying backwards into me. Vulcan got up and began flying forward again, but suddenly Noc was replaced with Alice, and she stood in front of me, arms spread wide, "Vulcan! SNAP OUT OF IT!"

He stopped his flight on a dime and shook his head, "What the-? Alice…?" But then his mouth started glowing, and I shouted, "Alice, watch out!" I pushed her out of the way as Vulcan used a point-blank flamethrower, which started to burn away my face after a moment, my skin melting off like wax.

I groaned in pain, but activated endure, allowing me to retain consciousness. He stopped after what felt like an eternity and used sky drop, digging his claws into my back and hoisting me into the air. He tossed me in front of him, and as I floated weightlessly, he used dragon tail to send me flying across the village, crashing through several houses in the process. I groaned and tried to get up, but the Krookodile from the Mafia group planted his foot on my chest, "Hmph. Looks like the legendary hero has finally met his match. His own partner. How sad."

I was half-dead, and in no condition to fight back, even if I did use Endeavor, so I just laid there. The Krookodile scowled, "Aw, no last words? No futile resistance? I was wanting a little-"

"Zorro."

He turned to a Honchkrow that landed, and he stuttered, "M-Master Victor! Sir, what are you doing here? I thought you were scouting out new mystery dungeons!"

"Well, I see that you're doing a bang-up job taking care of the threats. I'm here to help."

The Krookodile narrowed his eyes, then gasped, "...You're not-!"

The Honchkrow was enveloped in a rainbow swirl of paint, and the Krookodile tried to use stone-edge, but the still-transforming pokemon rushed forward and used sucker punch, then it solidified into a Golurk that used mega punch. I heard the snap of bones and the breaking of stone, and Vincent picked me up, "Oh, man… You look worse for wear…"

I smiled weakly, "It's not that bad, is it?"

Vincent smirked, "Oh, it's worse than you think. You need a reviver seed… And there are a lot more pokemon than just the ones we saw at first. Like, at least thirty more."

He placed a seed on my face, and it began spreading its healing roots on my burnt flesh. Vincent set me down, "Now, you just-!" He tensed up, and Vulcan rammed straight into him. Vincent tried to catch himself, but then Team Veros leapt out of the shadows and pressed Vincent away. He tried to kick the Toxicroak, but a Banette intercepted, her eyes glowed, and Vincent was bound with shadowy chains. Then the Haunter launched a shadow ball at him, and Vincent's arm crumbled to dust and fell off as the orb of shadows passed through like it was water. I tried to shout, but my mouth wouldn't open due to the pain. Vulcan hefted me up, "Nothing personal, but I've got orders." and I saw Vincent begin crumbling away into dust and shadows, and the last thing I saw was Vincent falling to his knees, both his arms missing as the Toxicroak used shadow ball in unison with the Haunter. Then, Vulcan slammed me back into the ground.

I groaned and said, "Vulcan… Open your eyes…"

He tilted his head, "Open them to what?"

I spoke in between bouts of pain, "What you're… doing… You're killing your best friend..."

He laughed coldly, "That's where you're mistaken. I don't know you, man. Like I said, nothing personal."

I quickly stammered, "But just a minute ago you said all those things about me! About how I could never kill another pokemon! What was that about?"

His claws glowed blue as he ignored the question, but suddenly he was knocked to the side by Rose, and she wrapped around his arm and made him use the attack on himself. She began choking him, her serpentine body wrapping around his neck and constricting, but he backed into a wall and grabbed her head with his other arm and yanked her off. I began getting up, but stopped midway after I heard an audible crack. I looked at the source of the sound, and Vulcan tossed away Rose's limp form, still glaring at me. My eyes followed her as she hit the ground several meters away, unmoving. I gasped, but groaned, still half-blinded.

Vulcan wiped the blood off of his chest where Rose made him use dragon claw on himself and began walking towards me, "Hmph. That's why you don't protect others. You just get yourself killed."

Roy floated out of Vulcan's shadow, "HOW DARE YOU!" Vulcan backed away for a moment, and Roy floated forward.

Vulcan readied shadow claw, but Roy vanished, then reappeared behind him and slammed into him full-force. Then he used power gem before Vulcan could recover. He turned around after popping something in his mouth, and Roy used nightmare, but Vulcan remained standing. Roy gasped, "Chesto berry!"

Vulcan bellowed a flamethrower, but Roy sunk into the ground and vanished. The Reviver seed had finished its work, and I stood up, still shaky, and held a small stone that was tied to my wrist, "Vulcan… I think this'll even the odds a little bit…"

I was surrounded by a purple sphere of light and transformed once more. Vulcan backed away for a moment as I stood there, Mega-evolved. I planted my front limbs on the ground and opened my mouth, "Sorry… But… Hydro Cannon…" I shot the torrent of water straight into Vulcan, and he was shot through the entire row of buildings, each of them collapsing as he crashed through them.

I turned to Roy as he said, "I can't do much against Vulcan if he's immune to my incantations of sleep! But I felt a powerful spell cast over him, altering his memories, his motives, everything. I don't think you're going to get through to him, Connor. Not without some incredible power or psychic incantation."

I growled, "I have to. I'm not going to kill him."

Roy said, "Connor… He killed one of our team-mates in cold blood." He started tearing up, but said, "Taking him down might be the only option… if his memories are altered… Then there's no breaking that spell without visiting Uxie himself, or maybe Arceus. But neither of them are conveniently available. But if you know someone who's a master in mental manipulation, go right ahead and give them a call!"

I shook my head and began walking, "There's always another way!"

Roy shook his head, "You care for him! I understand that! We all care for him! But you have to do whatever it takes to ensure our team's safety!"

"He is a member of our team!"

"Not right now! Right now, he is the enemy! He is showing no mercy! It's either you or him! Make the choice!"

I paused and stared at him, "Roy… I… I can't just-"

"You're the only one that can stop him now! Nobody else stands a chance! Use your head!"

I started walking forward again and growled, cursing my indecisiveness, and Vulcan burst out of the rubble once more and glared at me from across the town. I started tearing up as I thought about what I had to do… _If I can't break the hypnosis… I'm going to have to kill him… Or, I could keep him captive until- No… That won't... I'm so sorry, Vulcan…_

 **-Atlas' POV-**

"Magnus, I'll get the Hydreigon-"

"F*** no! I want the flying one! I can take him!"

"No, Magnus! We don't have time to do this! I have the type advantage!"

"Relying on type advantages is for f***in' pansies!"

Magnus opened with a bullet seed on the Hydreigon, and I rolled my eyes as I went head to head with the Pangoro. It had a long bamboo-looking staff that it twirled around, throwing me off, and it slammed the stick into my face, sending me flying. I pushed myself up while knocking it back, then leapt forward and used cross chop. Magnus had taken flight, battling the Hydreigon, and I blocked the Pangoro's staff with my upper left hand and began charging a focus blast. It swung again, then used low sweep right before I launched the attack, making me send it flying off into the sky.

It tried to stab downwards with its staff, but I rolled out of the way and tried to yank it from its grip, but it growled and kicked me back into a building. I narrowly dodged a brick break, then proceeded to ram its face into the stone wall, then slam it into the ground. Not wasting any time, I put it in a chokehold with two of my arms, then used cross chop with my other two, breaking its neck.

I turned back to Magnus, who looked like he was losing. The Hydreigon knocked him out of the air, then used body slam as they were both falling. I shielded my face from the dust cloud that got thrown up, and when it cleared, Magnus was unmoving. The Hydreigon tossed his body to the side and roared at me, and I watched for any signs of movement in the Tropius. _Magnus… No..._

 **-Jade's POV-**

I flew straight into _Mordred and opened with a Blizzard attack while he was fighting Quint from Team Core. He crossed his arms to block the attack and asked, "Have we met? You're kind of interrupting our little spar."_

 _I glared at him, "Onc_ e… Briefly. You killed my mother."

He tilted his head, "...A Froslass? Oh, was it the one that was hiding Iden from us? 'Cuz that's the only one I recall. What was her name… Hazel, right?"

I tried to use wake-up slap on him as I shouted, "You do not speak her name!", but he caught my hand mid-swing and kicked me backwards, "You've got to do better than that if you want to beat me. Let me guess, you're here to avenge your mom, right?"

I nodded, "Yes. That is what I intend to do." I shot an ice beam at him, but he dodged by sliding underneath, then used night slash, knocking me to the ground. I tried to get up, but he stepped on my chest and sighed, "Come on… I don't want to do this, but you leave me no-" Quint tried to leap at him, but he slashed backwards, sending the Absol flying, "no choice. Gosh, so many interruptions."

His arm blade glowed a dark indigo color, but he was suddenly pelted with leaves glowing in a rainbow swirl of colors. Nocturne leapt from the building above us, then shot another magical leaf at Mordred. He turned back to me momentarily after he landed on the ground, "You alright, Jade?"

I quickly righted myself, "Yes."

"Good." He turned around and used grass knot on Mordred, causing him to faceplant into the ground while he was trying to move forward. I floated up to him and leaned forward, but he shook his head, "No! Get out of here! After all this is over, I've got something to give you. So don't die."

As he turned around, I slowly nodded and whispered, "Good luck…" as I quickly fled and Mirage took up her position next to him.

* * *

 **Um... Yeah. No. Finale part 2, people! It's really heating up! No pun intended. (Since Vulcan's... y'know... a fire type...) Show of hands, how many people expected the fight to be between Connor and Vulcan? Not that I can see your hands, but whatever. Poll's still open on my profile, go ahead and leave a vote if you want to have a say in the next story! And yes, I did use my fanfiction powers for this part, but the whole Mafia Concept was brought to you by OnyxWhip, one of my reviewer people. Be sure to let me know how it went!**

 **Hope you guys enjoyed! Go ahead and leave a quick review or PM me if you had any questions, comments, concerns, OC ideas, whatever! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	39. Epilogue, Part V: Finale, Part 3

**-Epilogue, Part 5: Finale, Part 3-**

 **-Nocturne's POV-**

I kept my eyes on Mordred and said, "Mirage. Get out of here."

"But-"

"Go! I got this!"

She shook her head, "We're not supposed to die, remember?"

"And I don't plan on it! Go help the others! I'll handle it!"

She still hovered beside me, and I knocked the Bisharp back with a seed bomb, "GO!"

She flew backwards slowly, then vanished in a cloud of dust.

The Bisharp stood a few feet away from me, and we had a silent standoff for a moment before Quint tried to leap at him again. He swatted the Absol aside and laughed, "Leave, Quint. This battle is between the Cacturne and I. Go find Koumori or Rogue to pick on."

Quint glanced at me, and I nodded. _Go._

He nodded in response and fled. After a little while longer, Mordred smirked, "That Froslass… You were wise to take her place. She would have ended up wasting her life. However, I don't know why you made the Flygon leave. She is a valuable asset in this situation."

I knelt into my fighting stance, "I'm more than enough to beat you!"

Mordred laughed, "We'll see," and used iron head, charging straight for me. I dodged to the side and used grass knot, but his eye glowed electric yellow, and I shuddered with paralysis. I tried to move, but Mordred casually walked up to me after dusting himself off, "If you're trying to prove your worth to that Froslass, you can stop now." He extended the metal blades on his arms and smirked, "I am the superior pokemon in this battle. I would keep you alive just for you to watch your leaders kill each other, but I've got plans for something far greater."

I felt the paralysis wear off, but I decided to wait it out, and pretended to strain as I said, "Wh… what…?"

He looked at me, "But… You know, I've had a change of heart… I'll make it quick. Consider this being merciful."

I activated counter, and dodged to the side as he used x-scissor. He stumbled after his attack didn't connect, and I tripped him up with grass knot, then used brick break on his back while he was down. He tripped me up with low sweep, then stood up. I quickly righted myself and raised my arms, calling in a sandstorm. He glared at me as I disappeared into the sand.

I laughed maniacally as a scare tactic, "Heh… ha-hee-hee-heh-HA-HEE-HA-HA!" I sprinted around, watching him look around blindly while trying to locate me by the sound of my voice. The sandstorm didn't do any physical damage to his iron-hard skin, but it still reduced his visibility as I sprinted forward and used drain punch. He shouted out in pain as he ate the dirt, and I continued chuckling, my energy being restored, "Oh… You're going to pay for what you did to Jade all those years ago. You took away everything she loved and didn't even look back. You thought you could get off unscaved? I'll make you pay dearly… Hee-hee-hee-ha-ha-hee!"

I shot a focus blast at him, but he leapt to the side and dodged, but I was already anticipating that, so I tripped him with grass knot, then dashed forward and used brick break, then disappeared back into the sandstorm.

He growled, "You think I'll lose this battle? She has grown fond of you, obviously… Let's see how she likes it when I take you from her. Then she'll be broken to the point of no longer being a threat."

I used brick break on him again and my smile faded, "Shut it. You talk way too much." as I disappeared back into the sandstorm.

He growled again and stood up, "Stealth…? Two can play that game…" His eyes glowed, and he vanished into the sandstorm. I gasped internally, _What?! How?!_ **(AN: Role Play to copy Noc's Ability)**

Suddenly, a shadow appeared behind me and landed an x-scissor on my back. I flew forward, and the Bisharp raised his arms, calling in a rainstorm and negating the swirling sands.

I stood up, but he kicked me in the chest and sent me stumbling back into a burning building behind me.

I groaned as the burning wood began blistering my skin, and Mordred spread his arms, "Where's your bravado now? You aren't going to call in another sandstorm and try to disappear again?"

His fist glowed purple as it extended into a long spike, "As fun as this was, I have important matters to attend to."

He stabbed downwards with a poison jab, but I rolled to the side and threw down seed bombs as I began charging a solar beam.

He smiled, obviously not trying, "You're just full of surprises, aren't you? Just like that Smeargle."

Due to the rainy conditions, the charge-up time for the Solarbeam was taking way longer than I had wanted. By the time I did fire it, he casually stepped out of the way and turned his head to face me, "That's the best you could do?" He sprinted forward and swung upwards with his blade. I sidestepped and used needle arm, but he parried and kicked me in the gut again, then used power up punch to slam me into the ground. I rolled back and stood back up, but he was already on me again and it took all of my skill, even with my counter active, to dodge his blade swings. When I saw an opening, I hit back with twice the force of his swings, sending him flying back into the building behind him. The entire thing collapsed on top of him, and I panted as I fell to the ground, exhausted. _I hope the others are alright…_

I heard movement coming from my right, so I quickly righted myself, only to see Mordred perfectly fine. He did a mocking gesture with his hand, "That the best you got?"

I tried to stay calm, but for some reason, rage overtook me and I charged forward. He parried my initial brick break, I couldn't dodge the counterattack fast enough, and gasped as I saw my severed arm fall to the ground a few feet away. After he kicked me back to the ground, he planted his foot on my stomach, and he stabbed my chest with a poison jab.

I shouted in pain as he twisted the blade around, shredding my chest, "There you go, getting mad… An enraged opponent is the easiest to beat. Because when you're enraged… All you see is red, no matter how much you want to see clearly. And unclear vision is deadly against me."

I gasped for breath and tried to use destiny bond as the blade sunk further into my chest, but before I could, I lost consciousness.

 **-Connor's POV-**

I rode towards Vulcan with Ancient Power, and as he began charging up a fire blast, I sped up using all of my concentration. I slammed the boulder into him, knocking him to the ground, then pinned his body with one of my arms while I raised my other fist to bash his head, "Don't make me do this!"

He opened his mouth and used flamethrower, but I anticipated this and clamped my hand over his mouth, making him swallow his flamethrower. He bellowed smoke from his nostrils and gagged, "Blech! Ooogh…"

I growled, ignoring the burning pain on my hand, "Have you come to your senses yet?"

He glared in response and tried to kick me off, but I hit his face with a focus punch. His head twisted to the side, but he looked back at me and spat, "That all you got?!"

I raised my fist again, "You want some more?!"

He slashed at my face, but I pinned his arm with a small rock tomb, then opened my mouth, ready to use hydro pump, "I don't want to do this, Vulcan! But you're forcing me to!"

He growled at me, "You're a fool. Why would I care what you think?"

My grip lessened, but I quickly retightened once he continued, "Mordred told me all about you guys… You were out to get me. They took me in after you killed my father."

I shook my head, "Wait, what?!"

He glared at me, "Don't act like you don't know!"

I was so shocked by that statement that I allowed my grip to loosen once again. He got his feet underneath me and kicked me off, broke the bond on his arm, and shot another solarbeam at me. I crossed my arms and braced for impact, and when it hit, I had never felt anything so painful in my life. I screamed as I felt my skin and blood being vaporized by the beam of white light.

I tried to endure, but my vision was already fading. Then, it stopped. I fell to the ground, and I saw another Charizard standing in front of me. It was black, with crimson red wings folded in front of it, seeming to deflect the solarbeam.

It turned back to me as Vulcan stepped back in surprise, and a gentle female voice seeming to heal me just with words asked, "Connor, are you alright?"

I de-evolved and laid my head down on the ground, my skin steaming and blood cauterized, "Yeah… Just… Give me a minute…"

Amber, the Charizard from a couple months ago, nodded, "Very well. I'll handle Vulcan."

She flew forward, and Vulcan launched a fire blast at her. She suddenly vanished and reappeared behind him, then kicked him into the ground. She placed her hands on the sides of Vulcan's face while he was on his back, and he raised his arms to try and push her off, but she chanted quickly, "Poistaloitsu, joka muuttaa muistosi, joten saatat nähdä selvästi jälleen!"

Vulcan stopped thrashing, and he looked around slowly, "What…? Where…?" Then he slumped to the ground and closed his eyes.

She stared at Vulcan then closed her eyes, then stood up and walked over to me, placing her hand on the side of my head. She chanted something else, and the skin started to heal instantly. She moved her hand away my face and said, "Connor…"

I stared at her amber-colored eyes, "I don't think we've met, officially… Who are you, exactly? I mean, I know your name, Amber, 'cuz we met a few months ago, and you helped Vulcan learn how to fly, but..."

She pursed her lips and said, "Well… I-"

Before she could go on, Mirage zoomed through and stopped next to us, "Guys! Come quickly!"

"What's wrong?!" I looked over to her and forced myself to my feet.

"Noc! He's-!" She choked back a sob, and I gasped, "No…"

Amber said, "I will tend to Vulcan and make sure he is restored to his former self."

I turned to Mirage after a silent nod to Amber, "Take me to him."

I followed with Ancient Power, using all of my strength to keep up until we came to a semi-collapsed building. I saw a body underneath some of the rubble, and I shook my head in disbelief, " _No_ …"

Jade flew forward from behind us, " _No, no, no_! Nocturne!" She raised the rubble off of him with psychic, and I saw Nocturne's unmoving form. Jade shuddered as she stroked his cheek with her hand, "Noc…?"

She grabbed hold of his hand gently, "Nocturne…?"

She bowed her head, and tears began falling. Then, she cried out openly, letting out more emotion than I knew she had.

The entire village's flames were snuffed out with a blast of cold wind that emanated from her, and the remainder of the team began shivering as a snowstorm started to form around them.

Mirage said, "He was fighting Mordred... He said he'd handle it."

Jade turned back to her, "And you just _left_ him?!"

She flew backwards slightly as the wind began to pick up, "I was busy trying to save Connor! They hypnotized Vulcan or something!"

Jade scoffed, "And what a remarkable job you did! Did you save him? No! You were nowhere in sight! What were you doing?!"

Amber landed in front of Jade and said, "She was searching for me, and I, in turn saved both of your leaders from destroying each other. Do not be frustrated with Mirage, Jade."

She laughed coldly, tears freezing halfway down on her ice-cold skin, "Oh… I'm beyond frustrated..." She looked pointedly at Alice, "If I learned anything from being on this team, it's that I do have a heart, and I let it belong to that stupid cactus pokemon even though I didn't want to! And how he's gone! Just like everyone else!" She fell to the ground and began weeping again.

Atlas was limping, bleeding in several locations. Half of his face was messed up, with a deep gash running down it. He fell to the ground, breathing heavily. Amber rushed over to him and chanted the same thing she did for me. Atlas' wounds began healing, but he still was too weak to stand any longer. Alice rushed over to him as well and helped him up. He smiled weakly as he braced himself with one of his arms, "Thanks, Alice…" Then coughed almost silently. I looked at Mirage, "How many…?"

She choked back a sob, "Four… Vincent… Rose… Magnus… And Nocturne..."

I shook my head, "So many..." I looked at the remainder of my team, "Retreat."

Atlas stared at me, "Give me an Oran Berry… I'm not leaving. Not 'till Mordred and his Arceus-forsaken group are all dead!"

"That's an order! They can't be defeated! Not by us alone! Team Core and Team Hope have fled, and we're all half-dead!"

He started rummaging through his paint bag, but Alice stared at him, "Atlas… I know the fighting-type in you wants to stay, but we have to go."

He gritted his teeth and after what felt like forever, stood up and said, "Jade. Let's go. You heard the boss."

She sniffed once and floated upright, "...Very well."

Atlas picked Magnus's body up and started carrying him effortlessly while Roy floated by, stealing a glance at Nocturne's limp form, then melting into shadows. I hoisted Nocturne onto my back while Alice grabbed his paint bag and slung it over her shoulder. Just after that, I heard movement to my right, and a Metagross shouted from a few meters away, *Over here! Team Firestorm!*

Jade shrieked with such force that the ground around her froze solid, and the shock waves seemed to be made of pure cold. Once they hit the Metagross, it was frozen solid in a wall of dark ice. She scowled and tried to hide her face, then melted into shadows as well.

Vulcan emerged from behind a building, and he had such a horrified look on his face… I couldn't bring myself to look at him either. Amber placed a hand on my shoulder, then said, "Vulcan. We are leaving. To Sharpedo Bluff."

* * *

 **Bam! Finale, Part 3! Last Chapter coming up, guys! Check my account for the Poll to decide which story I should go with if you want. As always, hope you guys enjoyed! Go ahead and leave a quick review/PM if you did, and I will see you all in the next update! Much Love!**

 **-PL**


	40. Epilogue, Part VI: End of the Beginning

**-Epilogue, Part 6: The End of the Beginning-**

 **-Vulcan's POV-**

After we got back, Manaphy beamed, "Vulcan! You're back!"

I nodded, still teary-eyed, "Yeah… I am…"

He tilted his head, "Hm…? What's wrong?"

Manaphy looked around, "Where's the rest of the team? Vincent? Rose?"

Connor looked to the ground, Nocturne rolling off of his back, and Manaphy shook his head, "No… No way…"

Connor simply nodded, and Manaphy teared up, "I… I should've been there. I could've-"

I shook my head and began sobbing, "No… Manaphy, there was nothing... you could have done. I'm… I'm sorry."

He continued crying, but asked, "What happened?"

I tried to speak, but I couldn't. My throat hurt too badly. Connor said, "He got in a fight with some bad pokemon… that hypnotized him and made him attack us."

I was dying on the inside… It was the most horrible thing I had ever done… and I was watching myself do it. Like, I saw what I was doing, but it was like I was a passenger along for the ride in my body. I had no control. When I killed Rose, I showed no remorse, but on the inside I was screaming and crying, trying to regain control. I watched as I almost killed my best friend, and on top of that, almost killed Mirage, tried to kill Jade, and almost all of our original team members were dead. And then to see Manaphy like this… I could hardly live with myself.

Manaphy stared at me, "You were being controlled?"

I nodded, "Yes..."

Jade stared at the ground while Alice worked on patching Atlas' cuts and bruises. Mirage laid on the ground over near the back of the bluff, and Caroline laid next to her. None of them would look at me. Except Roy. He floated right up to me and said, "Vulcan… I must say that it was truly not your fault… The rest of the team might think it was, but that hypnosis-like incantation was so strong… I know that you had absolutely no control whatsoever over what you were doing. But, I'm dead, and don't tend to _feel_ a lot of emotion… Granted, this is still hard for me, but I'm trying my best to keep things lively in my friend Vincent's absence. I highly doubt that things will be the same for a long while. So don't go getting your hopes up."

I scowled at him, "Thanks. That's _exactly_ what I wanted to hear."

"Ah, but what one wants to hear and what they _need_ to hear are two different things, as Sunshine would say. Apologies if that came off as being abrasive or cruel.."

 **-Connor's POV-**

 _Man… Vulcan looks rough._

When I saw him, I could feel the grief coming off of him. Roy had made a valid point, and I knew that he wasn't in control, but then again, the entire team just saw him go all out… Showing no mercy on any of them. It would be a while before anything went back to normal. And… I couldn't really blame them. He almost killed me without hesitation, and killed Rose.

Without Amber, I don't think I would've survived. Probably because I didn't want to kill him, but still… This was probably the biggest wake-up call we had received as a team.

This was real life. And in real life, you didn't always win. Death was inevitable. Tragedy was unavoidable. We got cocky because we'd always pulled through just fine. And that confidence cost us pretty badly. No one got off unscaved. Vulcan got roughed up pretty badly by me, I was in a somewhat better condition after Amber's healing thing, and everyone else was either scratched, burned, cut, bruised, dead, or just traumatized by the battle.

As everyone tended to their wounds, Jade murmured, "It's not fair… so much loss…"

I tried to console her, "Jade… When I disappeared, I-"

"You what?! Vulcan was heartbroken? I've heard all about the incident the first time you saved the world! At least Vulcan had the chance to say goodbye to you! At least he could see you one last time before you disappeared! At least you made a difference in the world at all! You changed the future, that's why you disappeared!"

I paused and stared at her for a moment, genuinely shocked by her outburst, "...But I came back. What I'm trying to-"

She glared at me, "Nocturne is dead! Just like Vincent and Rose and Magnus! Gone entirely! And you~ GAH!" The temperature of the bluff started to drop, and I backed away, "Alright. Sorry… I get it."

She shuddered briefly, "...I'm sorry, Connor…" She looked at me, then turned her back to Vulcan wordlessly and sat on the ground.

Vulcan scowled and didn't say anything. I put my hand on his shoulder and said, "Hey… It'll be alright… One way or another."

He shook his head and pulled away, "No… it won't! How can everything go so wrong so quickly?! Not even two hours ago… You all were fine. Going off to rescue me. If I had been stronger..." He wiped a tear from his eye, "This is all my fault. The team… If I was just stronger… I could've..."

I tried to think of something to say, but I was at a loss for words. Vulcan growled, "This whole thing is pointless. We got our butts handed to us. You couldn't even beat that group at full strength... It's stupid to even try now."

Amber glared at him and nearly slapped him, "How dare you… that you would so quickly give up hope! The mere prospect of that is inconceivable! You were being forced to fight against them! They operate through others, it's how they've always done things. It is foolish to presume that there is no hope, Vulcan, son of Iden. With you fighting for us, we can overcome this."

Jade flinched slightly at that, just enough to where I noticed, but I didn't say anything.

Vulcan stared at the Shiny Charizard, "How can there be hope in the aftermath of that kind of battle? Everyone is dead… and they all think it's my fault."

"You still have more than half of your team, Vulcan. And I have friends that I can contact to help us."

"Help us what?"

We all looked at Atlas, and he stood up shakily, "What can they help us with? We had three whole exploration teams facing against this group, and we still lost. What kind of friends do you have that can help us beat those odds?"

"Friends that have faced an army of thousands and won. But stopping Mordred-"

"We're not just stopping him, we're going to make him pay." Atlas began tensing up, but sat back down while clenching his fists, "Vince… and Magnus… Mordred's going to pay. I'll make sure of it, even if it's with my dying breath."

Jade nodded, "And I as well…"

Alice stood up, "For Rose!"

Roy and Caroline both came to attention, and Mirage said, "And Noc! And Vincent!"

Caroline finished, "And for Magnus!"

I started tearing up, and Amber said, "...I'll be returning."

She flew out of the mouth of the bluff, and Jade sniffed, "Mordred has taken so much from me…"

Alice tried to comfort her, but Jade pulled away and sunk into the wall. Roy looked heartbroken as he said, "I truly pity the losses on this team… For the first time since I've been in this form, I feel… sadness." He sighed and sat on the floor, not even phasing into shadows.

Alice was helping tend to Mirage and Caroline's injuries, and Vulcan was perched on the edge of the mouth of the bluff, overlooking the sea.

I turned to him, "Vulcan, what're you doing?"

He looked back at me, then at Manaphy, "I can't believe it… This is where it ends..."

I shook my head, "No, Vulcan. This is when we figure out a way to overcome the impossible. We've already done it twice, with all the odds stacked against us."

"There's a difference between what we've done and bringing back the dead. There is seriously no way outside of Giratina or Arceus himself that we can pull that off."

I shook my head, "Legendaries aren't usually prone to breaking the laws of nature. We'll see if they'll help, and if not, we'll do it ourselves."

I saw tears streak down his face as he turned his head towards me, "Connor… Sometimes, no matter how much we want it, no matter how hard we try, some stories just don't have a happy ending. We're not sons of Arceus. You have to know your limits."

"I _do_ know my limits. But pushing them is what I do. I enjoy doing the impossible."

"...I'm back."

Amber had apparently come down the stairs while we were overlooking the ocean and said, "If you would follow me, please."

Vulcan raised an eyebrow at me, and I tilted my head, "That was fast… Let's go see what she's talking about."

We followed her up the stairs along with the rest of the team, and when we came to the top of the cliff, Amber turned and said, "Connor… Vulcan… Team Firestorm. These are my friends." I took a look at them, and they looked like a weird group at first. A Galvantula that was perched atop a _huge_ Tyranitar's head, two Sceptiles, one with an eyepatch, a female that looked normal-ish, and when Amber stepped aside, my eyes widened and I instantly grinned in spite of the current circumstances, "...Grovyle…?"

The Grass-type nodded silently with his arms crossed, a small smile on his face, and Celebi fluttered out from behind him, "Hello, Connor… It's certainly been awhile!"

Amber nodded silently while Grovyle stepped forward and I murmured, "Celebi…"

"Team Firestorm…" We all looked at the grass-type, and he continued, "I am Grovyle, son of Basileus." He stepped back and spread his arms, looking to the rest of his group, then back at us, "We are the insurgo, and we lend you our power."

 **-Victor's POV-**

"Blast it all! How many were there?!"

Mordred stood tall in front of me, "In total, they had twenty-one members in an all-out effort at retrieving Vulcan. We have successfully eliminated four of Team Firestorm."

"That's it?"

"Yes, sir. It was easy work at first, but that Charizard-"

"Vulcan?"

"N-no, sir, the other one. The black and red one… She is powerful. She eradicated the hypnosis cast over Vulcan in a matter of moments. Afterwards they immediately fled."

Now, that caught me off guard. "A Charizard that is able to erase a hypnosis cast by my finest psychics? I find this hard to believe."

Mordred nodded, "Yes, sir. We don't know how she is capable of that, but we intend to find her and use any means necessary to extract what she knows."

I turned and sighed, "Mordred, hasn't this gone on long enough? It's cost me a pretty poké to keep the authorities off of our tails. Killing four members of one of the most famous exploration teams in the world certainly doesn't help unless you finish the job entirely. And I doubt that you can pull off a successful capture of a Charizard, given your current record."

"Y-yes, sir, but we will eradicate them! Destroy them at the source while they are at their weakest!"

"I'm sure you will. But who's to say that they can't find a way to bring their teammates back from the dead? They have two pokemon on their team that should have been dead long ago. What would happen if they were to come back at their full strength, without Vulcan fighting against them?"

He looked to the ground, "Understood. However, with all due respect master Victor, that is why we shouldn't wait! Destroy them while they are crippled and prone to being wiped out once and for all!"

"I find your advice wise, but your failure after failure in taking them down has persuaded me to hire some more… what's the word i'm looking for… elite? No… Dependable! Dependable pokemon that I know can get the job done the way I want it."

He tilted his head, "Who do you propose can take them on?"

I smirked, "Let's see, we've got three that would be more than happy to take them out, given the right price. We have Flatline, Widow, and, for a small fee, I can probably bust soulburner out of Magnezone's containment facility. He'd be useful for eliminating the Mismagius."

He nodded, a slight nervous expression appearing, "Those three…"

I smiled and turned around, "Have them contacted by tomorrow. We can't delay."

 **-Iden's POV-**

"Iden!"

I turned quickly to the Infernape running into the cave, "Hm? What's the matter, Cinder?"

He panted, "The… The Mafia…"

I nodded, "What about them?"

"They've been weakened!"

I gasped, "How?! No exploration team-"

"Team Firestorm! The one lead by that Swampert and Charizard! They weakened the group! They killed many small-name members before fleeing!"

I quickly filed through the scrolls of registered Exploration Teams on a shelf in the back of our cave, "How have I not heard of Team Firestorm before?"

Cinder shrugged, "It beats me, but now is our chance to strike! We can-"

"No…"

Cinder stopped, "What?"

I read through Team Firestorm's files, then stopped on the leaders, "Vulcan…?"

I pointed to the Charmander in the picture, next to a Mudkip, "My son… My son is alive..."

* * *

 **...Team Firestorm will return.**


	41. News Update About Firestorm Sequel

-Prof. Lugia-

Alright guys, I just want to start off by saying Happy New Year's to all of you readers that have been following my stories and making this all possible with your continuous support and reviewing and PMing me ideas and stuff! And to those that just read my stories anonymously, I thank you for giving me over twenty thousand views throughout my five stories! I honestly didn't think I'd get this big of a fan base, even if it's only ten people! Thank you so much!

Anywho, enough about all of the sappy stuff. I want to inform you all that the long-awaited Firestorm Sequel will be released some time tomorrow, on January 1st, to commemorate the new year! My third story made entirely with my fanfiction powers, and my first ever that includes over twenty-five characters to keep track of! Wow! This story is gonna be absolutely packed with so much stuff. So much, in fact, that it will have to be split up into _three_ separate parts! So expect writing all throughout 2016!

And also I am thinking about doing death battles between any characters in my stories, like, basically, you, the readers/reviewers, list two pokémon in my stories you want to see fight pretty much to the death in the review section of the new story, which will probably be called "Firestorm Death Battles" or something like that. It can be any character mentioned in any of my stories. Using the power of Arceus, I will bring them into an arena, erase all positive and negative feelings between the pokémon, and have them fight until one falls. They will have access to all of their moves and abilities, except Temporal Guardians cannot slow down time at their command. So, you can have two team firestorm members fight and see which is stronger, or you can have the dreaded Mordred fight Victor, or anything! Anywho, this will serve as the posts during the off-months that I am writing my main stories, to keep you guys entertained while I concoct the next sequels to come. Let me know what you think about this idea, and I will see you all with the much awaited sequel tomorrow! Much Love!

-PL


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